Death Offer
by K. Higurashi
Summary: Set after Chibi Zarame gets his powers back. A new student joins the academy, and Shito doesn't like him. Not only that, but Michiru seems to be the only one able to understand him. Can the Zombie hunters figure out who he is before it's too late?
1. Death Offer

**Disclaimers: I do not own Zombie-Loan!**

**A/N My first Zombie-Loan one shot! Enjoy!**

**Summary: Set after Chibi Zarame gets his powers back. A new student joins the academy, and Shito doesn't like him. Not only that, but Michiru seems to be the only one able to understand him. Can the Zombie hunters figure out who he is before it's too late? Why is he here, and whom does he want? R&R  
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**Death Offer**

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It was a normal day, by Zombie standards anyway, and the sun was shining brightly with birds flying around happily. The weather was perfect for Zombie hunting that night and Chika could hardly wait for his day at school to wiz by so he could earn some cash. He and Shito were both walking to class that morning, Shito being in one of his usual pissy moods while Chika mastered his I'm-too-cool-for-school look as he walked down the hall.

"Mou Shito-kun, there hasn't been any illegal Zombie's up until today! We should be hunting out there instead of being stuck in here." Chika complained to his partner.

Shito eyed him then set his eyes ahead, "Keep quiet baka, we don't need anyone over hearing you.. Besides, education is important and Kita-san can't afford being pulled out of class by us all the time. She needs to concentrate on her studies during the day so we can hunt at night." He muttered.

"Cheh.." Chika grumbled, finally arriving at their first class. As usual they were just on time, and as usual, Michiru was sitting in her seat waiting for everyone else to do the same.

Once the class was in order the teacher had spoken up, motioning for someone to enter the classroom.

Chika leaned to the side of his desk to Shito, "I bet we have a speaker person.. Which means no lesson for today.." He whispered.

Shito sighed, "I highly doubt that." He whispered back to his overly enthusiastic partner.

The boy was right, there was no speaker. It was merely a new student that had just transferred into their school. Both Chika and Shito had rolled their eyes as they heard the entire female population of their class safe for Michiru of course sigh dreamily.

"Class, this is Shin Gaminishi." The teacher introduced, "He is a student that comes to us from a different country and has not quite master our language yet. Please be sure to make his stay one he'll remember."

Said boy stared out wearily to the class, his dark violet eyes scanning the crowd until it locked gazes with surprised olive green orbs. He bowed elegantly and rose, nodding to the teacher. He was appointed a seat near the back of the classroom, which he didn't mind, and walked to it.

Chika glared at the male, studying him carefully. He had dark red hair that was slightly messy and covered his right eye, which were violet, a school shoulder bag, and the same uniform as him. 'Wearing just his cotton shirt and his black pants.. Collar slightly open.. He's got style.. I don't like him.' Chika thought. "Oi, that guy creeps me out. He just has a stone look on his face, no smile… Kinda like you." He whispered to Shito, earning him a glare.

Shito growled and glanced back at the new boy who was now seated. 'I have a strange feeling concerning this student.. Something doesn't seem right about him.' He shot a glance at Michiru since she was apparently the only girl not phased by the new kid. 'We better keep watch.'

-X-

Lunchtime had rolled over rather quickly, and Chika was craving some good ol' cafeteria food. Meaning, Shito was dragged with him through the room until he got what he wanted. Chika was practically drooling after he paid for his food, not caring if it was over priced. He was also not paying good attention to where he was going and had bumped into someone while on his way to the eating room.

"Oi, watch where ya going!" Chika complained.

Violet eyes glared at him menacingly before turning away. Shin snorted and walked away towards the lunchroom, taking a seat at an empty table.

Chika growled, "Mou, that dude has attitude problems.. Man Shito-kun he's like your twin…"

Shito shot him a glare that mirrored Shin's, "Shut up, baka." He too walked away.

Chika just growled, "Oi! Wait up!"

The two had arrived at the eating room, both taken back when they found Shin's table to be full of people. They had walked up to the lonely Michiru, sitting down on either side of her.

"Looks like he's making friends pretty fast." Chika muttered.

"Y-yes, unfortunately, no one can understand him." Michiru said sheepishly.

Shito merely watched silently, looking over the boy in interest. His appearance seemed familiar in a way, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Are you alright Shito-kun?" Michiru asked, "Y-you're not sick, are you?"

Shito glanced at her, "Zombie's don't get sick."

"R-right! I knew that.." Michiru blushed, risking a glance over at Chika. "H-hey are we going to go out tonight? There is a new illegal Zombie, right?"

That spiked Chika's interest, "Hell ya! And I bet the pay will be juicy once we catch him! I can hardly wait! Money, money, and more money!" He chuckled before inhaling his food.

Michiru sweat dropped and turned away, her eyes locking with the dark violet ones from her first class. She yipped and jumped a bit, "A-ah! Gaminishi-san! I-I didn't see you there!" She said nervously.

Shin surprisingly smirked and shook his head, and stepped away from her with his hands in his pockets. "I just left my table to go to the washroom. However I don't know where it is. Could you point the way? I'm afraid the others can't understand what I'm asking.." He said casually.

Shito and Chika exchanged glances quickly, and then stared at the sitting Michiru and the standing Shin.

"O-oh! Th-the washroom's are just down the hall from here! Th-they're quite easy to locate once you ge-get used to the school and all, Gaminishi-san!" She blurted nervously.

Shin's smirk turned into a grin, "Do I make you nervous, Michiru-chan?" He asked.

"N-no! I mean yes—but that's because I'm not familiar with you—as in we're not—but we could be—!"

"Friends? Call me Shin, Michiru-chan.. I'll see you later.." He walked past her and exited the room.

Michiru's face was flaming red in embarrassment and she sighed heavily, "I can be so stupid sometimes.."

"Oi.." Chika spoke, snatching Michiru's attention, "How were you talking with him?"

Michiru blinked, "What? What do you mean?"

"What he means is, how can you understand him?" Shito interjected.

"Understand him? He was talking normally. Come to think of it, how could you guys not understand him. It was perfect Japanese…" Michiru explained.

"Quit playing stupid, Gopher. He was talking in gibberish. We could hardly get a word outta him." Chika replied. "So you happen to understand gibberish?"

"I'm telling you he was speaking Japanese.." Michiru replied, "H-he must have been!"

Shito frowned, 'As I suspected.. Something isn't quite right about him. A Zombie perhaps?' He thought.

-X-

It was late at night, the gang had finally set out for hunting. Michiru had set her glasses on her head and Shito had provided her with a strip of blueberry gum as they searched the city for any black rings. So far, only minor Zombie's were showing up and they were getting tired.

"I'm sorry! If only I could be of more use—" Michiru started.

"You can't help it.. But the night wasn't wasted. We did fit in a few guidance's.." Shito cut her off. "You shouldn't worry so much, the world isn't against you Kita-san."

Chika nodded in agreement, "Yeah! Just relax Gopher, Shito's right—"

"A-a black ring!" Michiru gasped, pointing ahead.

There was a figure walking steadily through a crowd of people, crossing the street, and then turning into an alley.

"Juicy pay check… Here I come!" Chika howled before pursuing the person.

Shito growled and ran after Chika, followed by Michiru. They had followed the person right to an abandoned warehouse. And Chika being the rash person he was, had bursted into the place as if he owned it. They weren't expecting it, but it was an ambush. Several low class zombie's had appeared out of nowhere and surprised them mildly before the boys had exchanged hands and began they're jobs.

Michiru had meanwhile backed away until she was flushed against a wall and waited. 'Th-there's just so ma-many of them! Was this a trap?'

"Kill them! Make sure these fools die or I will punish the lot of you!" Announced the ring bearer that stood on the second floor balcony of the warehouse.

Shito shot another zombie and turned to the figure above, aiming his pistol. He was then tackled to the ground by another undead figure. "Get off of me you trash!"

Chika blinked and turned, slicing the Zombie on Shito before slicing another that was coming up behind him. "Damn! These stupid things won't stop coming!! Just how many humans did this guy kill!?"

Michiru's eyes softened, 'So many were killed to be the soldiers.. How cruel…' She glanced up at the controller of the undead. 'I wish I could do something, b-but I'm no warrior.' She thought, too much in a daze to notice the Zombie closing in on her.

"Kita-san!"

"Gopher you baka!"

Michiru blinked, and turned, letting out a terrified scream. "Z-Zombie--!"

"Watch out Michiru-chan!" Shouted a different voice, but everything went black before she could see her saviour.

"The hell?"

"What is he doing here?"

-X-

Michiru's eyes opened tiredly, then she sat up suddenly. 'Zombie! I need to—to—where am I?' She glanced around, 'Bekko-san's office?'

"Chiru Chiru! You're awake!" Yuuta chirped, holding a tray of tea and placing a glass down, "I'll tell the others!" The energetic Zombie bounded out of the room.

Michiru sighed, "I can't believe it.. I must have passed out.." She grabbed her glasses on the coffee table and rested them on the bridge of her nose.

"Baka! That was no time to be scared! If you were that freaked out you should have left after we found the Zombie!" Shouted an angry Chika who had bursted into the room.

Shito grumbled, "Stop shouting Akatsuki, your irritating voice is giving me a headache.."

Chika pouted, "I can be as loud as I want Shito!"

Michiru laughed nervously as they bickered. "I-I'm sorry for causing so much trouble! I'm sorry!"

"Ngh? I don't think is was much trouble, Michiru-chan. You were merely frightened.." Spoke a deep voice.

Michiru squeaked and turned sharply, noting the new arrival. "Sh-Shin-kun! Wh-what are you doing here?"

Chika and Shito stop arguing for a moment and turned to her, "Since you're the only one who can understand him, we figured we'd wait for you to wake up and translate for us what he's saying.." Chika said.

"More specifically, we want an explanation as to why he was at the warehouse and how he was able to destroy a Zombie." Shito added.

"Sh-Shin-kun did what?" Michiru stuttered.

"They're telling the truth." Shin told her with a lazy grin, "I have the power to destroy the undead and guide them to the next world. Unlike them, I carry no contract. I was born with this power." Shin explained.

Michiru paled, 'I'm so confused--!'

Shito quirked a brow, "Did he say anything?"

"H-he said that he was born with his power, and doesn't have a contract." Michiru replied.

"Eh? That's quite a rarity." Bekko said, spooking the poor girl. "I only know of one other that carries such power." He eyed Shin knowingly, receiving a glare. "Unfortunately, the name escapes me. The boy is clean, his kind does exist, so you don't have to worry Shito-kun, Chika-kun." He explained, pushing up his glasses a bit.

Chika crossed his arms stubbornly, "Keh, I think this story is a big load of bull. There's no way I'm gunna forget how he did that.."

-FlashBack-

_"--Michiru-chan--!" Shin shouted, catching Michiru before she hit the floor. He had turned towards the undead creature, one of his hands glowing red, and he swiped at the Zombie._

_The thing had let out a blood-curdling scream before turning into ash. Whatever remains of a soul travelled into the air, and once again Shin's hand glowed, and the soul had passed through the gateway to the other realm._

_"Guidance complete.." He muttered._

-End of FlashBack-

Shito glared at Shin, "Whatever the case, Gaminishi-san must stay away from Kita-san. I don't trust him to be near her."

Shin glared back, the sparkle in his eye's disappearing, leaving coldness and a bitterness in its wake. "Hmph, tell him I'll rip open his windpipe if he dares to order me around again."

Michiru squeaked and nodded; "H-He said that he'll tear open your windpipe if you try to order him around again." She translated.

Shito scowled, "What did he—"

Chika howled with laughter, "Ha ha! I like that one.. Now where did I hear it from before..?" He shook his head, "Eh, I can't remember. Seriously though, we don't trust him Gopher, you shouldn't stay near him, okay?"

Michiru frowned, "I most certainly will not do as you say either Chika-kun! I-I'm a good judge of character and I-I find nothing to be wrong with being around Shin-kun." She stood up and walked out of the office, followed by Shin.

"Oi! Michiru--!" Chika shouted, about to follow when he felt a tug on his arm. "Shito?"

"Akatsuki, leave them be. We'll give them a head start before following." Shito told him sternly. 'I don't take threats lightly.. I want to know who this Shin Gaminishi is..'

-X-

The angry girl trudged down the busy streets in a huff, not minding the company of the new boy by her side. It somehow felt familiar, but she banished the thought. 'I've never met him before.'

"Ne, Michiru-chan? Do you want me to walk you home?" Shin asked.

Michiru stopped, "Maybe that would be best. I could always talk with Koyomi about this.." She agreed.

"Koyomi? Is that your mother?"

"No, of course not! Sh-She's one of the girl's at my.. erm.. apartment complex. She's a good friend." Michiru replied, changing her direction to the dorms.

"Oh? That must be nice." Shin told her dully.

"Hn?"

Shin's face hardened, "I've never had a good friend before. I only know enemies."

"W-what? You must know someone—"

"No, I don't, except for one girl.. Though I hardly speak to her and she is one to be emotionless. Then there's you.. The other one who can understand my language, Michiru-chan." He explained.

"O-oh, well I'm sorry, but having friends is really good. I'll definitely be your friend Shin-kun! We can hang out together, and talk, or even play games!" Michiru blabbered, "Y-you don't have to be alone!"

Shin glanced over to her in surprise, his face holding pure shock. For once, he actually smiled a bit and his eye's glittered, "No one has ever said those words to me.." 'Thank you. Talking to you, makes me feel important.' Shin thought.

Michiru blushed, "W-we can watch movies over the weekend if you want! That's in two days, so we can hang out then!"

Shin nodded, "I would like that, Michiru-chan." He stopped walking and glanced up at the sky. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave you now. Are we near your home?"

"O-oh! Y-yes! You don't have to worry! I can get there on my own!" Michiru said, "Don't worry about me Shin-kun!"

Shin waved, "Okay, I must leave.. I'll see you at school tomorrow." He turned in another direction and walked off into town.

"H-Hai! See you then!" Michiru waved. She turned and walked down the path to get to the dorms, feeling something strange. It was like a tug in her chest much like the feeling she had around Chika when he spoke to her sincerely. 'H-he's very nice.. I hope that we can become good friends too.'

From far away, Chika scowled, "Oi, Shito! I wanna sleep! Can't we go back to the dorms yet?"

Shito growled, "Quiet baka! Kita-san will hear us.."

"That dick(beep) already left! Can't we just run up to the Gopher and tell her that we were heading back to our rooms too?" Chika groaned.

Shito sighed, "Fine. Gaminishi is gone.. Let's go.. Trash.."

Chika glared at him, "Shut up shit-Shito!" He shot back, trudging ahead of his partner.

"Akatsuki--!" Shito walked a bit faster as well.

Above the two, a dark figure watched silently before disappearing in a gust of black feathers.

-X-

Days had flown by quickly, unless you were Chika, days went by at a snails pace. There weren't any huge hits for high paying illegal Zombie's, which meant that they had to hunt small fry for the past two days. Things couldn't get any slower for the white and black haired male.

As for Shito, he had been spending a lot of time by himself. As far as Chika knew, his partner was trying to figure out who Shin Gaminishi was. Not much was coming to his attention, but he didn't give up. He was lucky enough to stumble across Yomi, Friday after school. She was waiting in Bekko's office for some reason which allowed Shito to question her.

"Oi." Shito called.

"Hn? What do you want." She growled, being in one of her usual angry moods.

"I need you to do something for me."

"Heh, sorry to tell you that I'm only into Chiru Chiru.." She chuckled.

Shito narrowed his eyes, "I need to know more about Shin Gaminishi."

Yomi sighed, "I don't do anything for—"

"Kita-san may be in trouble if you don't help me."

Yomi eyed him, "Chiru Chiru? Fine, close the curtains then listen carefully. Yuuta isn't here to record anything.. Got it?"

Shito nodded and had done what he was told to do, then watched as the girl went into her trance-like state.

Suddenly, her eyes had shot open and she was trembling violently. She was hardly into her trance and this had happened. Shito was by her side asking her if she was alright, but she merely shook her head. "I-I.. can't retrieve any information! Th-there's a figure blocking my way! H-he's dangerous!"

'I've never seen Yomi in this state before..' Shito thought.

Bekko-san had soon returned with tea and a package, glancing over to the two tiredly. "Oh? Why is it dark? What have you been doing?" He sighed, "If you wanted some time alone you could have at least gone into another room—"

"How is it she is incapable to retrieve information concerning Shin Gaminishi?" Shito asked abruptly.

Bekko placed the objects down on the coffee table and moved to the curtains, opening them. "It's impossible to use her power to find knowledge such as that. You should leave this be, Shito-kun. Go find Chika-kun and do something together, I have business to attend to with Yomi—" Small snores cut him off, "Great, now she's asleep. The chances of Yomi appearing again today are not good."

Shito stood, "I apologize, but I will not stop what I'm doing. There is something about him that I do not like. I will find out.." Then, he left the office.

Bekko stared out the window, "He will figure it out sooner or later. He is very stubborn after all."

-X-

Friday night was a frenzy of fun at the dorms. Koyomi and Michiru first started to watch movies together, then started to talk, eventually getting onto the subject of boys.

"Michiru-chan! Is there a lucky someone you like? Do I know him? I swear if he hurts you Koyomi will punch his lights out!" Koyomi vowed cheerily.

Michiru sweat dropped, "W-well, truthfully I.. Don't know. Wh-what about you? I saw you earlier, you were being very nice to Sotetsu."

Koyomi blushed, "A-ah, so you noticed? He's very nice and energetic and cool! I like him a lot!" She beamed, "But.." Her face dropped, "He likes to travel a lot to eat weird foods.. I never see him.."

"Don't worry! I'm sure you'll have a chance with him." Michiru piped confidently, nodding to herself and smiling, "Don't give up Koyomi-san!"

"Right! Now let's watch more movieeeeeeeeeeeees!" Koyomi sang.

"U-uh huh."

The door had slammed opened, revealing an equally excited Chika. "Oi! Gopher! A new illegal zombie is out there! Time to go make some money!"

"Mou! This is girls night Chika! Go awaaaaaayyyyyyy" Koyomi pouted, standing from the couch, attempting to push Chika out of the room.

Michiru nodded, "I'm sorry Koyomi, but I should go with them. Maybe later we can watch this, okay?"

Koyomi grudgingly accepted, leaving Chika alone to pour herself another cup of Fantan.

That evening had turned into yet another boring night. They had come across no zombies or anything remotely out of the ordinary. It was on their way back when things began to get intense. Shito had spotted Shin sitting by himself in a secluded area from the city while they were on their way back home.

"Oi."

Shin had turned his gaze onto the dark haired male, grunting in response. He was looking at the stars noting every image he could create with them. 'I've never noticed the beauty that these things held. Keh, I'm sounding more and more like… Hmph..'

Michiru brighten, "Hello Shin-kun! Why are you out here?"

Shin's eye's immediately softened, 'Why is it.. This girl…?' "Have you ever noticed the stars? There are more when you are away from the city and any source of bright light. They're also more radiant this way."

Michiru nodded, "When I went on vacation with some friends, we went to some springs in the mountains. We could see a lot of stars there, it was pretty."

"Your friends are staring at me, I assume they still haven't taken a liking to me?"

"I'm sorry—"

"I understand. Why don't we spend some time together tomorrow like you had mentioned before?"

She blushed, "Okay! I would like that! And I don't have much work to do either."

He smirked locking eyes with her, "Then, how about we change it to a date and meet in front of the school at noon?"

She turned crimson that time, making Chika and Shito wonder what exactly they were talking about. Chika was getting a strange urge to punch the guy square in the jaw while Shito could only think of exchanging hands and using his pistol on Shin.

'What is he asking Michiru to do? Damn him!' Chika mentally shouted.

"H-hai, I agree! T-tomorrow then." She waved and began to happily walk down the path to the dorms. The two boys were behind her and once they were out of ear shot, they had asked her plain out:

"What the hell did that guy say?!" Chika shouted.

Michiru jumped, "W-well—He—Shin-kun asked if.. I'd like to spend the afternoon with him.. Together.. On er… Well it's.. My.. First.."

"First?" Shito raised a brow.

"First date." Michiru blurted embarrassingly.

"He… _WHAT_?!" Chika yelled.

-X-

Shito was in his room, lying on his bed. He was staring up at the ceiling deep in thought. Even Chika's yelling and the sudden crashing noises in the dorms couldn't shake him out of his trance. Michiru had long been gone on her little date with Shin. It was nearing four in the afternoon and he was still in his room thinking.

'A new transfer student.'

'Hair red. Eyes purple. One eye blocked by red hair.'

'No one can understand him except for Michiru.'

'He can guide souls to the other realm.'

'His name is Shin Gaminishi.'

Shito had mentally jotted down these facts, knowing that there was some kind of link in these. He closed his red orbs in frustration, "What is the connection.." He whispered.

'Shin.. the name itself has meaning enough.. it means Real.. or True… Gaminishi? I've never heard of such an absurd family name.' He sighed.

The image of a chibi suddenly came to mind and everything seemed to click. 'Hair red. Eyes purple. One eye blocked by red hair.' He mentally repeated, 'Those are the characteristics of the Reaper!' He sat up quickly.

"Impossible. That isn't right, perhaps I'm thinking too much." He ran a hand through his dark locks.

'Real.. True.. Gaminishi..'

"No one can understand him except for Michiru.."

'Gaminishi..'

"He has the power to guide souls.." He stood up and walked to his door.

'Shinimiga…'

"His name is Shin Gaminishi.." He opened his door and ran out into the hallway, following the barrelling sounds his idiotic partner was making.

'Shinigami..'

'Real Shinigami..'

"Shit." Shito swore, running faster down the hall. 'He lied about his name, and his identity.'

Chika was practically foaming at the mouth when Shito had found him and was ready to pounce on the new comer until his seriousness had calmed him, "Shito? The heck has gotten into—"

"We must find Kita-san right now!"

"Finally! Someone who understands—"

"Baka!" Shito shouted, "It isn't for you to beat him! You can't even hurt him."

"Ngh? Who says! I can hurt whoever I want!"

Shito glared, "She's dating the Reaper."

Chika froze, his face paling. His amber eyes were now trained on Shito and he opened his mouth slowly, letting out a mouth full of laughter. "Ahaha! As-As if! The Reaper and Michiru! Ahahaha! That's good! As if our Gopher would go out with him—"

"Trash, you're just trash.." Shito muttered.

Sparks flew.

Chika glared, "What did you call me?"

"Are you deaf now? Heh," He crossed his arms, "Baka, if you'd use your brain, then you would realize that I'm right."

The white haired boy closed his eyes and tapped his foot impatiently against the floor. Little by little, his brain started to process what Shito had said until his eyes flew open, "Shit! She's dating the damn Reaper!" He gasped in horror. "Why the hell didn't you figure this out sooner?!"

"Time to go." Shito announced, choosing to ignore Chika's comment.

-X-

"Ano… It's getting dark out." Michiru noted.

Shin walked with her downtown, "Hai, how about I take you somewhere quiet?"

"Qui..et?"

He grinned, "I have something I'd like to ask you, Michiru-chan."

"Y-you do?" She blushed, 'What if he wants to be my boyfriend?? But.. Chika-kun.. I.. I don't know..' She thought, her face turning crimson when he grabbed her hand and tugged her along with him in the direction of a secluded spot. 'The park?'

In no time at all, they were sitting alone in the park, under a semi-clouded sky. Stars were beginning to come out as they sat down together on a bench. There was silence between them, which was bearable. Shin didn't break their silence until a couple minutes later, feeling nervous now that he could feel the presence of two zombies coming near them.

"Michiru-chan, I have something to say to you." Shin began, "But you must promise not to scream. Understand?"

Michiru tilted her head in confusion, but nodded, "O-okay Shin-kun."

Shin smirked, "My time is up now, Michiru-chan. I had my fun going to school with you. Truthfully, I did enjoy it, but I'm afraid Shito-kun and Chika-kun are catching on to me." He huffed, "It's to be expected. Nonetheless I'd rather tell you then have them tell you."

"Tell me what?" She blinked.

"My name is not Shin Gaminishi." His face turned emotionless, "I am known as Zarame-sama, the Grim Reaper." He finished.

Michiru's eye's widened and her mouth hung open. Her hand had gone limp in his hold and her face paled considerably, "I-I d-don't—You-you can't be—"

He let go of her hand and stood, walking a few steps away from her. "I prefer this form over my previous form, so I will stay in this one for the time being…" He held out his right hand, a giant scythe forming, and he grabbed it, a dark cloak materializing around him.

Michiru shook her head, not believing it, "Za-Zarame-sama? But why would you come to school with me? H-how? You're a-a-a Shinigami!" She blurted, ready to pass out any moment.

"I attended your school for two reasons. One was to see what it was like to be a student with you, the second was to keep an eye on you." He smirked, "For you see, you have the qualities of a Shinigami like me. You have the eyes, and you can speak. I believe that you will soon be able to have my other powers as well."

"I—I—Y-you.." Her eyes swirled, "I'm so confused."

He glanced to the side, a gust of wind blowing his red hair to the side, "Your companions are on their way now. I was merely considering teaching you the ways of the Shinigami to help improve your skills so that you can pay off your dept faster with those friends. This is mainly the reason for my appearance.. I want to give you the opportunity to enhance your abilities. Weather you accept or decline my offer is entirely up to you." He explained, "You can find me tomorrow at the school to tell me you answer, Michiru-chan." With that said, he had disappeared in a gust of black feathers, his voice echoing in the night, "Good night, Michiru-chan."

Michiru had blinked a few times before passing out in pure shock. Luckily for her, Chika and Shito had chosen that moment to enter the park and find her.

-X-

"You knew, didn't you, ferryman?" Shito questioned the blonde man who was sitting casually in his chair.

"Hn?" He pushed up his glasses and shot Shito a tired look, "I know many things, but what you're talking about, is something I don't. What is it you're claiming I know?"

"The Shinigami taking the form of a student. Specifically, Shin Gaminishi." Shito growled.

Bekko kept his straight tired face, "Mou, of course I knew. I am the ferryman after all… I didn't see any particular reason to tell you since it is his business not my own."

"He could have hurt Kita-san!"

"Not likely." He sighed, "Why would Zarame-sama want to destroy a human that carries the same traits as him? If anything, I'm sure he wanted to find out more about her.. It isn't everyday a human is nearly equivalent in power to the Grim Reaper."

"Hmph, he is a danger to us and Kita-san. He can use her to get to us and reap Akatsuki and I in a heartbeat." Shito turned briskly, "I will not tolerate such foolishness to continue." With that, he had stormed out of the office, leaving Bekko to his thoughts.

-X-

Michiru woke up the next morning, feeling very refreshed and prepared for the day. She soon realized that she was not the only one in the room. Her friend, Chika, was snoring lightly against her bed. He was sitting in a chair slumped over onto her mattress. She smiled and brushed a few strands of white hair away from his face. Blushing, she had taken her hand back and placed it over her heart.

"Mmmmnigph.." Chika mumbled, "Gopher.."

Michiru blinked and looked at him intently, 'He's dreaming about me?'

"…Gimme my money.." He mumbled, turning his head in his sleep.

Michiru sighed, a sweat drop forming, 'I-I see.. Of course he'd be dreaming about money. He really wants to pay off his dept.' She glanced out her window, the sun shining brightly into her room, 'Zarame-sama can help me improve my skills. I could help pay off the debt faster. Chika-kun would then be free of the black ring.. But.. What if it's some kind of trap and I put them in danger?'

She slowly slipped out of bed and quietly taken a change of clothes with a towel. 'I think I know what I want. I want what's best for us, all of us.' She mentally nodded and tiptoed out of her room, leaving Chika to his sleep.

-X-

"Mou.. How boring.."

The wind picked up, the leaves brushing against each other in the trees. There were sounds of the usual motor vehicles passing by, and the screeching of the crows that surrounded the figure. These birds liked to follow him at times, something he never really minded. He was accustomed to this feeling of darkness that always accompanied him. Wherever he went, it followed closely behind.

For example, he had never once heard birds sing a lovely tune. Only crows followed him, and they could only screech annoyingly.

Except when around Michiru.

Around the strange girl was a light that he almost didn't recognize. With that light came real singing birds and a swarm of warm emotions he never knew existed, or perhaps he had just forgotten them?

Come to think of it, was he always the reaper? Since the beginning of time?

He couldn't remember.

Zarame knew he was old, but exactly how old..?

He huffed, 'Some Shinigami I am. To think of such useless questions. I am a being born of darkness, one that lives in darkness. That's all I need. Hate, jealousy, rage, envy.. Those are the only emotions I feel and all I need to feel.' He mentally scolded.

'Except..'

'Except I don't wish to merely feel those darkened emotions. Michiru-chan introduced me to the other side. Friendship, love, happiness.. Are those important as well?' He shook his head, 'I am the Grim Reaper, I should not be thinking of such things.'

The crows behind him shrieked loudly before flying away. Oddly enough, he could start hearing the real birds sing. Maybe his thoughts had done something to his aura? 'Feh..'

The Reaper was sitting on the roof of the school, his Shinigami cloak blowing gently to his side, some feathers loosening from his shoulders and gliding away in the wind. His scythe rested lazily against his shoulder, one of his legs bent while the other hung loosely over the edge of the roof.

He stared out into the horizon, the brightness of the sun not bothering him in the slightest. 'It's passed noon now.'

-X-

"Baka!"

_SMACK!_

"Aiiiiiiiee! Itaiiii Itaaaiiiiii!" Chika whined, holding his abused cheek, "Mou, what was that for shit-Shito!" He howled back.

Shito glared, "You idiot! Kita-san is no longer in this building! You let her leave without protection!"

Chika snorted, "Cheh, what are you talking about? The Gopher is still sleeping there, see—" He turned to the bed, noting its bareness, "A-Ah, she was there…. Crap…"

"Baka, we're leaving."

The white haired boy grumbled and stuffed his hands in his pockets, following Shito. 'Damn it Michiru, can't you just stay out of trouble once?'

-X-

'Shito-kun and Chika-kun are probably very angry with me right now.' She bit her lip, 'I hope they can forgive me, I really don't like to cause trouble…' Michiru glanced up at the stop light, sighing. It was taking long to change colours… 'Finally,' She crossed the street, entering a small restaurant shortly after.

'I'm starving!'

She was seated immediately and she had ordered her meal, consisting of beef ramen and a glass of juice.

"Itadakimasu," She mumbled, eating her noodles.

'The school isn't too far now.. I still can't believe that my daydreaming got me so lost. I wasted almost the entire day trying to find my way back to a familiar place.. Now I'm eating dinner and wasting my time again by thinking too much! Zarame-sama is probably gone by now.' She thought. 'No! I shouldn't think like that!' She mentally cooed, practically inhaling her ramen.

'I should hurry and finish this! I need to go to the school!' She gulped down her orange juice and placed the cup back down on the table. "Okay!" She breathed, asking the waiter for the bill.

-X-

He narrowed his violet eyes, his lips spreading in a thin line.

"Sunset…" He mumbled half-heartedly, the final rays of sun illuminating his dark red locks. 'I will wait for her.. Until this day turns to tomorrow… I will wait for her answer..' His eyes downcast and soon located a figure walking towards the school.

"Hn? Michiru-chan chose to come after all." Zarame again mumbled. He realized soon after that the girl would not be able to join him on the roof due to obvious reasons. So, he had descended, landing softly on the ground below without harming himself. Unfortunately he had frightened the poor girl and she had let out a loud squeak, her purplish hair standing on end and her glasses drooping down her nose.

"You are one who is easily frightened, Michiru-chan." Zarame mused, smirking slightly at her blush.

"W-well it's not every day I see someone fall from a four story high building without getting hurt! Y-you surprised me!!" She replied shakily.

He shook his head, "Well, it is to be expected I suppose."

Michiru pushed up her glasses, her blush deepened, "I'm s-sorry if you were waiting long.. I-I left this morning b-b-but go-got lost on my way her heh heh and then I got hungry so—I'm really sorry!" She bowed.

Zarame's eyes widened, though only his left eye seemed widened since dark red locks covered his right eye. "You don't have to be so formal, Michiru-chan. I don't really mind your tardiness." He waved off, shifting his scythe to his other hand.

Michiru lifted herself up and nodded shyly, "H-hai." She bit her lip and glanced away, "I-I guess you're waiting for my answer, ne?" She laughed lightly.

"Correct, all I need is a yes or no."

"Can I ask a few questions?" At his nod, she continued, "If I were to theoretically say yes, how long would this training take?"

"I would say in a normal dimension such as this, four years." He replied, "However, I would be taking you in a different world where time moves at a different pace than here. In this world, only a day would go by, but in the other, one year will have passed."

"So if I went with you, would I age by four years in that world?"

"No, since you're of this world, the time will have no effect on your age, though your appearance might change slightly." Zarame answered.

"W-where exactly would you be taking me?" She asked.

He shrugged, "It isn't a realm easily explained."

Michiru thought for a moment and nodded to herself, "Then, I guess you already know my answer… Because I want to help my friends! Chika-kun and Shito-kun have such a big debt and so do I! I don't want to be just a gopher, I want to be able to fight like them and help!"

Zarame held out his hand, "Then come with me, and I will grant you your wish, Michiru-chan."

"I…" Her hand moved to his.

"Michiru-chan!!"

"Kita-san!"

"Get your hands away from her ya damn Shinigami!"

Michiru blinked and turned, finding her friends running towards her, "Gomen.. Goodbye, for now." She whispered, her hand touching Zarame's, the two disappearing in a gust of black feathers.

Chika's eye's widened, looking everywhere for the girl, but her cheery face was not coming into his sight. "No.. No.. This can't be! Oi! Gopher this isn't funny! Come out!"

"Ki-Kita-san.." Shito mumbled, a black feather blowing in his direction. They had both stopped running, and Shito had caught the feather, clenching it in his fist. "She's gone."

'It can't be.. This is all my fault! I should have been awake!' Chika thought, his eye's blurring with unshed tears. 'No way am I going to let him see me like this..' He held them back and grunted.

"Shit.."

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**A/N I suppose this could be a two shot if I wanted it to be, but it all depends on what sort of reviews I receive. For now, I'll keep it as in-complete. It was my first Zombie-Loan fanfict, so I hope you all liked it! Let me know what you thought of it! R&R please! Arigatou Gozaimasu!**


	2. Reaper's Eyes

**Disclaimers: I do not own Zombie-Loan**

**A/N OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooo! I'm excited.. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Just a heads up, I have pics of Michiru-chan and Zarame-sama!! Michiru-chan from this chapter and Zarame-sama from the last chapter! Okay? Thank you so much for waiting so patiently and for your reviews! Enjoy!!**

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 2. Reaper's Eyes**

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Though they had searched and searched for Michiru, they could not locate her. She had completely disappeared from the city leaving no trace as to where she was going. Shito had managed to convince Chika to call it a night, saying that they would head over to the ferryman's office in the morning for questioning.

The walk back to the dorms was silent, though it was only because Chika did not want to break down then and there in front of his partner. He was far too stubborn to show his weak side, not to mention it would be beyond embarrassing if he accidentally let out a tear or two. 'She could be dead somewhere, or even alive and being tortured. Damn her, why did the Gopher leave with him? Why couldn't she just stay?' Chika thought as they walked down the path to the dorms.

'It's my fault. I should have been awake.' He mentally blamed.

"Akatsuki," Shito began in his surprisingly usual tone of voice, "If you keep blaming yourself for what happened, I will take my hand from you and shoot you in the head," He growled threateningly. "You're annoying me with your misery."

"Shut up shit-Shito."

"Trash."

"Cheh, well we're here. So you don't have to put up with my misery anymore ya jerk." Chika muttered, trudging ahead to the dorm main doors.

"We will find her, baka. It's just a matter of time." Shito announced, barely convincing himself of the matter. He was as worried as Chika, though he hid it much better than his silver haired partner. With years of experience, he could hide any emotion under his mask of stone.

Chika had entered his room, slamming the door shut behind himself. 'Damn it all! Michiru..' He mentally cursed, burying himself in his dusty old bed. 'Where the hell did you go? How are we going to make more money without you around to point out the zombies? Heh, who cares about money right now anyways…' He hugged his pillow, his eyes drooping. It was late after all, and school would be starting in six hours.

"..Michiru.."

-X-

The school was crowded with noisy teens making their way to their first class. The two zombie hunters were silent during their walk, actually making it on time just to see if Michiru would be attending class. Just as the ferryman had said, she was not there. They had visited Bekko-san's office before school, questioning the gloomy man as much as they could.

Chika narrowed his eyes in boredom at the teacher, shooting Shito a side glance. They had briefly nodded to each other, mutely deciding that they would leave the school after first period to continue searching for Michiru. Though they were told that they would never find her, that answer never seemed good enough to them.

-FlashBack-

_"Oh, some early bird visitors I see." Bekko muttered dully, pushing his glasses up to better see his employees. He leaned forward on his desk, placing his elbows down on the surface and leaning his chin against his hands. "Judging by the looks on your faces, it seems like we might have to have another heart to heart." He sighed, dreading the thought of explaining such complicating matters to them._

_Shito grunted and walked straight up to Bekko-san's desk, slamming his hands on the surface angrily. He never did show this side of him very often in front of Bekko, but today was very different. "Where. Is. Kita-san."_

_Bekko didn't even flinch as he stared up into Shito's flaming eyes. Chika merely sat on the couch, his misery getting the better of him. "Oh my, it seems we're very angry today." Bekko coughed, leaning back into his chair. "Well then, I have no choice but to explain everything, don't I? But I'm warning you now, I'm not telling you everything. This is a confidential matter that concerns only the Grim Reaper and Michiru-chan."_

_Shito stood straight and stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting for the blond man to continue._

_"You already know how Michiru-chan possess some of the Reaper abilities and as such, successfully grabbing the Reapers attention. Well I can tell you now, you will not find her in her first period class or in this city for that matter." Bekko began, his lip twitching in slight amusement._

_"She has gone to a far away place that not even creatures like you can reach. Not to worry, I don't believe she will be harmed in any way. She is safe and may even return. I can't say I know when, but she will. Though I wouldn't count on it being anytime soon, so don't wait up for her. You should continue hunting zombie's since your time limit is drawing nearer and nearer every day."_

_"What a waste." Chika blurted suddenly._

_"Hn?" Bekko shifted his gaze to the silver haired boy, "Did you say something?"_

_Chika glared up at Bekko-san, his amber eye's as lively as ever, "What a damn waste! We took on an additional debt just to keep her alive and this is how it all ends up, a waste! We should have just let her die! This investment was the biggest mistake ever!" He snarled, standing up and briskly exiting the room._

_Shito said nothing for a moment then nodded to Bekko-san, "We will be back to see if any illegal Zombies come up. Until then, we will be searching for Kita-san."_

_"It's no use, you should just continue on as if you never met her." The ferryman tried to convince, but his words were ignored. He watched the blue haired boy leave, and smirked. 'Those two have no idea what will hit them. Zarame-san never ceases to amaze me..'_

-End of FlashBack-

Chika had his hands firmly in his pockets as he and Shito walked down the hall to exit the school. He barely managed to hold back a flinch as one of Michiru's friends gossiped, telling the girls that Michiru was absent. 'They don't even deserve to be her friend. They hardly even know the Gopher.' He thought bitterly.

"Akatsuki, you know there's no point in this search. Bekko-san said Kita-san is not in the city." Shito reminded as they rounded the corner outside of the school.

"Cheh, and you think I honestly care what he says?"

He grinned to himself, "We shouldn't separate in case we find a zombie."

"That's fine with me."

-X-

Two days had passed since Michiru's disappearance with the Reaper. Shito was starting to feel the depression that seemed to cling to Chika, and sighed. 'Kita-san is gone for an unknown time range. A trivial thing such as this should not be affecting me so much.' He turned his head from the ceiling to the side to glance at his night table. The red eyed boy had grabbed the black and red comb from his night table to stare at it.

'Tragedy never ceases to follow me.' He snorted, turning the comb in his hands. He could hear someone turning his doorknob, so he placed his comb back down.

"Shito.." She whispered.

He glared at the door, "What do you want Koyomi?" He all but growled.

Her dreary eyes turned to glare at him, the dark purple orbs practically burning holes in his face, "Chiru Chiru Michiru is gone."

Shito raised a brow, "Yomi?" He sat up in his bed, not caring that he was shirtless.

"Why isn't she here? I can't sense her at all. What has happened to her?" She asked dully.

"The Reaper took her away."

"She's not dead. So why take away Chiru Chiru," Yomi began to growl.

"Humph, you shouldn't be asking me. The ferryman knows more then me." Shito said bitterly.

She closed her eyes to keep from snapping at him, and then reopened them, "I dreamed last night."

Shito's eyes widened in shock and he turned to her, about to question the girl about her dream. Sure, Koyomi dreamed all the time just like any other human would, but Yomi? Not so much. Whenever she dreamed it would be much different. She would not dream of fictional things of the subconscious. Instead, she would dream of the future. This ability would work very rarely. In all the time that Shito has known her, she had only dreamt once.

Now she has dreamt twice.

"There's a white figure that will reveal itself to us. It knows the location of Chiru Chiru Michiru—" Her words drifted off as her eyes closed and she fell onto Shito's floor, unconscious.

Shito gaped at her, his body frozen in place. Then he slightly shook his head and got out of bed, trudging to the girl to see if she was alright. As he thought, he smiled to himself finding a drooling and snoring Koyomi. 'Of course she'd be like this.' He thought as he lifted her up with ease and brought her back to her room.

Chika had strolled out of his room by then and walked by the two, stopping and turning around to do a double take, "Wh-what the hell did you do to her Shito? Tire her out too much last night?" It was the first joke Shito heard ever since Michiru's disappearance, though that didn't stop him from glaring back.

"Shut up, trash."

"Ooooh, not denying it are we? Well then I wonder what Sotetsu will think of this when he hears it? I'm thinking a death match!" Chika howled with stars in his eyes.

Shito rolled his eyes and continued to walk away. After he had dropped the girl into her bed he had walked out and headed back to his dorm, walking by a waiting Chika. "What do you want…?"

"Ya know, I was thinking all last night. And I guess I figured that I would just keep doing what I'm doing to pay off my debt. I know now that someday the Gopher will be back, but I won't wait around for that to happen. She would want us to work hard and keep hunting zombies." Chika stated, smiling lightly, "Right?"

Shito turned into his room, and sat on his bed, "Feh, I know." He ran a hand through his hair, "We should stop by the ferryman's office today. There might be a new zombie on the loose."

"I'm betting there is. Though it'll be harder to search for it, we're bound to find it sooner or later." Chika yipped, then blinked down at Shito, "Why aren't you getting dressed?"

Shito shot him a glare, "I would rather dress myself in private if it's all the same to you." He hissed.

Chika laughed sheepishly, "Right, I'll just wait out here.."

-X-

"…Several humans have gone missing from this area. I also received confirmed information that there's a new illegal zombie, apparently since Friday, that's been out on the streets and its pay is rather high…" Bekko-san finished just as Chika howled with glee. He sighed and scratched his cheek before turning his dull eyes to Shito, "Something the matter Shito-kun?"

"No." Shito turned to leave with his overly excited partner. Things seemed to be as if they had never met Kita-san.

"If you find anything, then I'll be there in a heart beat to heal you up!" Yuuta beamed as they left.

"So we're heading near the outskirts of the city, right?" Chika asked.

"Correct," Shito replied.

"Sugoi! While we're at it, maybe we should stop by some of the stores. I hear one place sells these—"

Shito had learned to tune Chika out a long time ago. Something he really didn't have to do until Michiru came into the picture. Usually she would keep him relatively calm. 'I shouldn't be thinking of Kita-san right now..'

"There's a white figure that will reveal itself to us. It knows the location of Chiru Chiru Michiru—"

"Oi, Akatsuki."

"—More money then—Hn? What?" Chika responded.

"Yomi was in my room today." Shito finally answered earning him a punch in the shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. You brought her back remember? Cheh, dumbass.." Chika muttered under his breath, though Shito merely ignored his comment and continued.

"She told me she _dreamed_ last night."

Chika froze, stopping mid step. "Sh-she what? But that doesn't happen—"

"I know. But listen to what she said.. _A white figure will reveal itself to us. It knows the location of Kita-san._" Shito repeated, having edited some of the material. He hates the nickname Yomi and Yuuta seem to like to use for her. 'Kita-san or Michiru-chan is better.. Much better.'

"A white figure? The hell is that suppose to mean?" Chika grunted, scratching his head, "Yomi just keeps getting weirder and weirder.. Damn woman.." He glanced around the area mentally noting that they were nearing the outskirts of town. "Hey look shit-Shito, there's some police tape over there.. Looks like the damn authorities have got parts of this place blocked off.."

"That's never stopped us before." Shito replied sharply.

"Got that right."

They hadn't found a shred of evidence leading to the whereabouts of the zombie. Only blood and all the severed parts of various bodies were taken away. Nothing to go off of really but a theory.

"They are all women disappearing, perhaps this is like the case of the school nurse." Shito said while they walked home together.

"Or it could be some psychotic guy that's hungry for young girls. I think its and old man," He shivered at the thought. "Think about it, they're all girls age 17."

"Much like the disappearing victims at our school." Shito countered, smirking slightly at the growling Chika.

"Cheh."

-X-

"Have you heard? People are talking about some green eyed girl that disappeared three nights ago," One girl whispered to her group of friends.

Chika glanced over in their direction, listening in.

"I hear her name was Kita Michiru, and she hung out a lot with boys A and B." The other whispered back.

"Oh no! Do you think it has to do with the disappearing girls in the city?" Another questioned.

"You know that transfer student also disappeared! You think he has anything to do with it? I bet he does."

Chika growled and turned to his partner, "Mou, now people are spreading rumours about our Gopher missing and the Reaper. The hell are we supposed to do about that Shito-kuuuuun?"

"Ignore it." Shito simply replied, taking his usual seat at their cafeteria table.

"Cheh, easy for you to say." Chika sat down as well, "So I was watching the news and found something interesting.."

The blue haired boy had narrowed his eyes then glanced away as if not caring. Chika was used to this and continued on with his story.

"All the girls missing are 17 year old _brunettes._" The silver haired boy smirked triumphantly, "Meaning we can use—"

"Bait." Shito finished, "Except there is a flaw in that plan.."

"Hn?"

"Who will it be?"

"It's obvious who's it's gunna be." Chika nodded to himself, "Clearly you're the girliest out of the two of us, so we'll buy a brown wig—"

"You baka! Do you honestly think I will—"

"Only if ya want to get him. Yeah, I do think your gunna do it, Shito-kuuun." Chika taunted with a wink.

Shito picture himself ripping his hand away from Chika and using his pistol on him, 'I will not be humiliated by this fool just to kill a high priced zombie..'

-X-

"This isn't fair! It was my idea, so why do I have to be the girl?" Chika whined, then felt the pistol to his head, hearing the click of Shito pushing down the safety lock. "Right, that's why.."

The now chestnut haired boy stood clad in an orange and yellow summer dress in the outskirts of town. He also wore some wonderfully uncomfortable flip flops and hugged a matching purse tightly to himself. 'At least I'm not wearing heals.. Still, I hope I don't get these clothes messed up or Koyomi might mess me up.' He shivered at the thought and finally began his walk down the dark alleyways.

Shito was of course following him at a distance to not arouse suspicion. Unfortunately after one hour and a half of walking aimlessly in the dark, nothing happened. They had decided to return home and call it a night. While Chika was muttering under his breath about the new blisters he got from the flip flops, Shito began to review all that they knew.

"The last women to have disappeared were last night."

"Tuesday."

"Then the one's before that were—"

"Sunday."

"Maybe the zombie kills every other day?" Shito questioned aloud. "Because the first two disappeared Friday. Sunday two went missing, and Tuesday two more.."

"You don't think…"

"That the baka is incredibly stupid and would kill two girls tomorrow night?" Shito interrupted.

Chika nodded, crossing his arms, "It makes sense. So tomorrow we'll try this again and maybe bag us a zombie."

"We might have to bring Sotetsu with us since it's also likely that there is more than one zombie, which would explain why two girls disappear." Shito pointed out.

"Hmm… sounds to me like we need a second brunette." Chika risked a glance at the now fuming Shito, earning a pistol aimed at his head again.

"Never…"

-X-

The next night they had decided to forget the costumes and to just go to the outskirts of the city. One way or another, the zombie would be coming out and attacking someone. It didn't surprise them to see many policemen patrol the area, though it made their job that much more difficult.

"Damn, I bet they figured out the pattern too. 'Cause there weren't that many cops here last night," Chika complained.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Shito agreed turning a corner swiftly and heading down an alley followed by Chika.

It was very dark out since it was terribly late. The two had to hide several times to avoid risking being caught by the authorities for trespassing in this part of town so late at night. They were going to try and have Sotetsu come along with them but he had a different hunt assigned to him. Otsu-san as well was occupied doing a follow up in his own work, leaving Chika and Shito to find the illegal zombie on their own.

"Akatsuki," Shito whispered, catching his partners attention. "Look over there, I know I saw a figure behind that window move," He pointed to an abandoned home.

Chika nodded, "I smell zombie." He grinned excitedly knowing that the pay would be juicy. "Let's go."

Shito led the way to the abandoned home, opening the door with ease since the thing was unlocked. There were no lights on, but they didn't need light to be able to find their prey. Instead, there was a nice trail of blood that did that just for them, leading them upstairs to the second floor of the home.

Everything from that point on happened so fast, it was almost like a blur. One moment the hunters have switched their hands forming their weapons, the next their both tied up messily in chairs next to one brunette. By the time Chika had regained consciousness, he was next to some gagged babe grinning like a mad man.

'Striiiiiiiiiike! She hot!' Chika had stars in his eyes for a moment before he finally let his upstairs brain kick in. 'So we're tied up to chairs with rope? Dumbass's..' He glanced around noting how his partner was still out of it and that their foe wasn't here at the moment. 'Okay..' He materialized his weapon in his hand and easily cut the rope. Then he cut Shito's binds and began to slap him around.

"Oi! Wake up shit-Shito! Snap out of it baka!"

Shito groggily opened his eyes and shook his head lightly, "Ngh? Be quiet Akatsuki.. Your voice is extremely irritating.."

"Mnnghff!! Nifghh!" The gagged girl struggled.

Chika swung his katana over his shoulder and smirked, "Hey there, my name's Chika, and I'll be saving you tonight." He announced as he got to cutting her binds.

"There's only one brunette here which leads me to believe he's out for the second." Shito said as he materialized his pistol. "Come on, we'll have to—"

"Th-the-the be-behind you!" Screeched the girl.

Shito turned briskly, managing one shot before getting shoved against a wall. Since the home was fairly old and not to mention abandoned, there wasn't any kind of furniture in the room, safe for the wooden chairs they were tied to. There was also one window, which was the window Shito had spotted the zombie in the first place.

This thing was the size of a monster, a six-foot-seven bucket of muscles. It also seemed like he didn't have much brains upstairs and that he was more of the bodyguard type. He wasn't so easy to kill since he was so big and the fact that there was a screaming girl didn't help their matters. They had somehow managed to guide the creature to the next world without causing too much damage to the frightened girl. She would have nightmares for the next few months, but that was it since she fainted half way during their battle.

Chika had checked his little booklet and growled, "That wasn't the illegal zombie.. just a zombie made by the illegal zombie.."

Shito nodded, "That means he must still be around.."

"So you finally agree it a _he_ huh?" Chika joked.

The two had heard crashing noises in the next room and both exchanged looks before going to check it out. They had bursted through the doors and found themselves frozen in place. Two people were fighting, a white cloaked figure and a woman with long red hair. The two carried materialized weapons though Shito and Chika had barely a moment to decide whom to help until the white figure had used his weapon to easily slice the red haired girl.

"Shito we gotta help—"

"Wait, I don't think that's necessary.." Shito interrupted, holding his partner back.

There was a passed out brunette tied to a wooden chair off to the side of the room. She seemed to be unharmed whereas the red haired woman laid in a bloody heap in the centre of the room with the white figure standing above it.

"Look, he's raising his weapon," Shito whispered, "Odd, I've never seen something shaped like that before." He said, referring to the two rounded blades that the figure possessed.

The person was doing a guidance, leading the broken soul to the next world. Once it was over, the person had slightly turned his head, his furry white hood covered his face and hid it from them. With one quick glance the person had run towards the window from which they assumed he came from and leapt out.

"Crap! Shito, remember what Yomi said?" Chika reminded, and soon, they too were leaping out the window to follow after the white figure.

He was easy enough to follow since he was white and not black. Though it was as though he was purposely running at a slow pace for them to follow. When they had almost caught up to him, he had decided to run faster and began to leap ahead. It was amazing, this person could leap up fairly high and land just as softly on the ground without injuring himself.

"Quick! We're going to loose him!" Shito shouted, forcing his legs to move faster.

"H-he's like a demon or somethin'! There's no human able to leap like that! Hell this dude is practically flying!" Chika informed, forcing his legs to move faster as well. However the figure was too difficult to keep up with and they had eventually lost it in the haze of tiredness. The fact that they were trying to run through crowds of late night workers and traffic didn't help any either.

"Shit," Chika cursed, placing his hand on his knees to settle down a bit and breathe. "We've lost him. The only way to getting the Gopher back and he's gone!"

Shito gasped for air as well and stared down the path the person had taken, before screwing his eyes shut. He thought for a moment and re-opened his eyes, now facing Akatsuki, "I think I know where he went. Or more specifically where he was leading us.."

Chika blinked at him, his golden pools filled with confusion due to his lack of thinking power. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and continued to stare at his partner, "Yeah? Where to?"

He shook his head and stared at Chika, "He's heading towards the school. The place where she had left us, baka."

"Heh heh.." Chika chuckled nervously.

-X-

As always, Shito seemed to be right on the ball of things. They were just at the gates when the two noticed two figures standing tall on top of the school. It seemed to be a casual thing for them to do even though there weren't any doors that led to that roof. What frightened them out most was the fact that both figures took a step off the roof before plummeting to the ground.

To their amazement, they had landed softly on the ground with a few black and a couple white feather's falling gently behind them. The zombie hunters had approached them with caution, immediately recognizing the first figure as Zarame-sama. The red haired male wore a long black cloak with pitch black feathers around his shoulders. His right hand held his scythe while his left hand possessively held the white figure closer to him. He glared menacingly at the approaching boys with his dark purple orbs.

Next to him stood the one they were chasing, the one who had the strange weapons and was being held by Zarame-sama.

"Michiru.." Chika whispered in awe.

Indeed, it was said girl. She had pulled away the furry white hood, her entire white cloak shrinking in size until it reached just above her knees, the material tearing into long wisps. The fur from the hood wrapped around her shoulders attaching to the front, keeping her seemingly bare shoulders covered and warm.

Her right upper arm was bandaged as well as her entire lower arm down to her fingers, while her left arm was entirely bandaged down to her fingertips. She wore what was left of her old school uniform half torn up. Her school shirt was much shorter and above her waist revealing more bandages all around her torso. Her left leg had a black legging that was also torn due to age and it ended just below the knee, revealing some skin before her long boots.

Her face frightened the boys. It held no emotions for the first few moments that they observed her. Her eyes looked exactly like the killer ones the Reaper held, stone cold. Her hair hadn't changed one bit, the same shortness and pinkish colour still adorned that same pale face. However along her face there was a lone bandage from her lower right jaw trailing up across her cheek and a small bandage just sitting on the other side of her face on her jaw. Wherever she had been, it looked like she had gotten herself beaten to a pulp, and yet she didn't look remotely in pain. In fact, she looked rather heroic with the wind blowing her tattered white cloak behind her.

She had turned her head away from the boys and smiled kindly at Zarame, "Don't look so mean, they're my friends Zara-kun."

"_Zara-kun_?!" Shito and Chika sputtered together, earning them a glare from the all powerful Reaper. Michiru had turned back to them, now greeting them with her usual bright olive eyes and her large smile.

"Of course, he is m-my boyfriend and all.." She blushed slightly then laid her head on his shoulder.

"H-how—wh-why?" Chika stuttered, not understanding Michiru very well at all.

The Grim Reaper held Michiru a little more tightly and huffed, "I told you they would act this way, Michiru-chan. I don't understand how these fools can be your friends.."

Shito frowned, "How is it I am able to understand him? Could you understand him as well Akatsuki?"

"Y-yeah! What's up with that?!"

Michiru giggled, "I taught him how to speak normally since I didn't think it was fair for him to teach me all these things without getting anything in return. It took a while, but he learned! I mean, the first year he could only get a couple words out, but by the second year—"

"Nani? First year? Second year? Are you a baka? You've been gone for four days Gopher. You must have bumped your head pretty hard—"

"No, baka." Zarame interceded, "We've been gone for four years in our world. In your world, four days merely passed."

"Your world..?" Shito asked out loud, clearly bewildered by this. "Just where had Kita-san and you gone to?"

The red haired male sighed, "We left this dimension to travel to mine. The time in my world is much different than here. So though we've been gone from here for four days, in my world it has been four years. My world is far too complicating to further explain."

"Whatever the case, we should return to the dorms. We can further talk over there, I'm sure." Shito told them.

"Wait!" Chika shouted dramatically, "Just out of curiosity… How long have you two been dating?"

Michiru blinked and looked up at Zarame, trying to remember, "Ano.. Was it two years ago or three?" She questioned.

Chika paled, 'She's been dating the fucking reaper for two years?? Possibly three??' He thought to himself, feeling a slight pain in his chest. His original idea to run and hug the Gopher until she turned blue had flown out of his head as soon as he heard this. Not to mention the non stop death glare he kept getting from her 'boy toy'. If looks could kill.. Chika would be ten feet under by now.

"Two and a half I believe," Zarame replied, smiling kindly at Michiru.

"Right, it has been two and a half.." Michiru said having finally now remembered, "You asked me out in the middle of a battlefield of blood. You were so sweet." She giggled.

Both Shito and Chika sweat dropped, 'That isn't romantic at all… Creep..'

-X-

"—And another thing! What in the world were you thinking?! Leaving this entire world to go with the shinigami! Did someone drop you as a child?! Are you insane?!—" Chika continued to ramble loudly, completely ignoring the now sleeping Koyomi.

They were all back at the dorms huddled inside their very small living room. Koyomi took up a portion of the couch, Michiru and Zarame both seated together in a chair, while Chika and Shito both stood.

Shito glared at his loud partner, a vein slowly emerging from his forehead. He swiftly snatched Chika's ear and tugged on it, hard.

"Aiiiiiiiiie!! Itaaaiii!" Chika cried, his ear throbbing in pain. "What the _hell_ Shito!"

He merely glared, turning to Michiru and completely ignoring Chika. "I couldn't help but notice the weapons you carry. Can we see them again? They are.. Unique.."

"Ah--! Yes, m-my weapons are mostly based on Zara-kun's scythe.. Since there can only be one reaper, there is one scythe. But my weapons are a b-bit different!" She stated proudly, blushing a bit in embarrassment as well. She had held out her right hand, and in a glow of red light, two almost mini versions of scythes materialized. Each blade was held separately on what looked like some form of circular hilt with a bar connected in the centre. She held both of her weapons in a battle position and Shito noted how they glowed excessively and how they held no chain unlike his and Chika's weapon.

"Sugoooi! That looks like an upgraded version of my katana!" Chika hooted, "Those are amazing!"

"Why isn't there a chain connecting the weapons to you?"

"O-oh! That's because I can form these without a contract! I have the natural slaying powers of a reaper." Michiru replied.

Zarame subconsciously ran his right hand along Michiru's side as they all spoke, his bandaged hands coming into contact with her bandaged waist. Michiru's friends soon learned the reasoning behind so many bandages. The two had some wounds caused by moments during training in the other world and these very special bandages provided a sort of second skin to help prevent severe wounds from happening. They served as a form of protection, much like armour.

The Grim Reaper soon sighed, now recalling just how much the two contracted zombies bickered on a daily basis. He whispered in his girlfriends ear very delicately, "While they're arguing.. I never did ask you about my sleeping arrangements.. I only have one night to spare before I need to leave."

Michiru blushed extensively, "G-gomen! I forgot all about that. How long will you be gone?"

He thought for a moment, "I don't wish to be gone for very long.. But I do have my own duties.. I need to hunt for at least a week. I fear the number of undead walking this earth have grown substantially and there are many living souls that are reaching their limits and need to be reaped.." He spoke casually as if it were a normal work discussion held between associates in a business.

Michiru grew worried, "You shouldn't rush just to come back and see me. You're needed around the world Zara-kun."

"Don't worry Michiru-chan, I won't do anything your baka friends would do." He grinned slightly, twirling a part of her hair in his finger.

She blushed heavily, her concentration fading and thus her weapons dematerializing, "H-hai, well I suppose you can stay in my room—"

"Hell—!" Chika began.

"—No!" Shito finished, both of them finally tuning back with the rest of the group. "Zarame-san can stay in a spare room." He continued, in a very deadly cold voice, flames burning within his already fiery orbs.

"Feh," Zarame glared away, fairly angry. Though, that anger had dissipated when Michiru had boldly grabbed his chin and dragged him down for a searing kiss.

Both Chika and Shito were choking on their voices and their spit watching the two. 'Michi-Michiru just—' Chika mentally sputtered feeling yet again another tug at his heart. Of course he was more than shocked to see the shy little Gopher actually do such a thing. This was no longer the timid Gopher he and his partner had come to love, though as bad as this might sound, he kinda liked the new Michiru. She seemed to have a lot of surprises up her sleeve.. Though he really didn't like the idea of her dating the Reaper. Honestly, he needed to get rid of him.. Just like he would off the illegal zombies, he would soon get rid of the Reaper somehow— "Oi!" Chika suddenly remembered.

Michiru had broken away from her heated kiss to glance at Chika, her lips slightly swollen, "E-eh?"

"You took our kill earlier! That means that we didn't get our pay! Damnit! It was a huge one too!" Chika howled angrily, the whole room sighing as he fumed loudly.

"Ac-actually Chika-kun, You should have received the pay. I think it was split three ways like it usually would be. You should check." Michiru told him.

As ordered, he had pulled out his little booklet to check. She was right, the money was there, split into three ways as if she had never left, "Holly shit! It really is there! Alright!" Chika howled in excitement, thrusting his fists in the air.

"Ano.. I'm going to bed now, I really don't want to be too tired for school tomorrow. So if you don't mind—" Michiru began to explain.

"I'll walk you to your room Michiru-chan," Zarame purred innocently in his velvety deep voice, never growing tired of watching her face flush in embarrassment.

The girl had eventually nodded and waved goodbye to the boys before being led out of the room by Zarame-san. Chika, though he was still thrilled about the pay, was not exactly ecstatic when it came to Zarame-san being with Michiru. It damn right pissed him off even. But he knew.. He knew he was helpless against the shinigami.

"You do realize you should give up since she is obviously taken, don't you Akatsuki?"

"So?" Chika found himself sputtering before he could stop it, "W-wait! I—I don't know what you're talking about!" He glared at his partner whom had steadily moved towards Koyomi to pick her up and bring her to her dorm room.

"Hmph, suit yourself." He muttered, leaving the silver haired boy to his thoughts. 'Though I am no better.. At least my thoughts about her have stopped now. Knowing she's with another male seems to have me seeing her only as a friend.'

'Uh crud, if shit-Shito knows that I like her, then who else does? Damn, I bet that damn Reaper is just loving this.. Seeing me suffer…' Chika thought gloomily, then his blood suddenly began to bubble with anger, 'That motherf(beeeep) dick(beep) is the worlds biggest asswipe(beep) bastard(beeep)!! And he's going to pay for taking her away from me!' Chika mentally howled, blushing a tinge when he realized his own thoughts.

"Ch-Cheh! I'll figure things out in the morning.." He told himself, crossing his arms behind his head and walking out of the room.

-X-

Zarame pecked Michiru one last time, holding her delicate hands in his and giving them a little bit of a squeeze. It was morning, and the sun was just beginning to shine brightly outside. No one else was awake yet, to Michiru's knowledge, and Zarame had to leave. She knew she could handle being alone for a while, so she wasn't too worried. Besides that, she had a mission! She needed to help remove Chika and Shito's black rings!

"I will see you soon Michiru-chan, just promise me you will be careful." Zarame whispered softly.

Michiru nodded, her eye's never leaving his dark violet orbs. "Don't worry, I know my limits and I won't let anything happen. You just be careful too, I don't want you to comeback looking like a stuffed animal. Or maybe I do.. You were so adorable Zara-kun!" She giggled at his scowl and hugged him one last time never noticing the amber eyes watching curiously from a distance in the hall.

Zarame grunted, "I wish your friends the best of luck.. For now.."

Michiru pulled away and pouted, "Don't be so cruel."

He grinned sexily, "I'm the Grim Reaper, I can be as cruel as I want."

The pink haired girl flushed and finally glanced away, making him grin even more. "Y-you can leave now, you know.. I-I have to get ready for school." She stuttered nervously.

"Of course," Zarame stepped back, his cloak and scythe materializing around him. "Goodbye for now, Michiru-chan." With that said, his form had shadowed over and dematerialized, leaving a few black feathers behind in its wake.

Michiru sighed sadly and re-entered her dorm room, closing the door quietly behind herself. She had gotten ready for school and packed her bag, hearing a knock on her door. It had been four years since she heard anyone knock on her door for school. She knew only one person did it and smiled to herself, snatching her glasses from her nightstand to place them on the bridge of her nose, "Coming!" She called back.

She was at the door, and greeted Chika warmly. Instead of his usual glare, she received a warm smile.

He now knew that the Reaper was gone, and as such, he couldn't stop himself from hugging her tightly for a moment. He could hear her sputter in surprise but ignored it and whispered, "Welcome back, Michiru." He knew he shocked her by saying her name, but then to cover up his showing emotions, he had yanked the girl into a headlock and given her a noogie.

"K-Kyaaaa!! S-Stop Chika-kuuuun!" Michiru screeched in laughter.

"There's your punishment for leavin' us Gopher! And I'll be damned if I let that happen again!" He shouted half serious, before letting her go.

She was beyond dizzy and had to re-brush her hair, but she didn't argue. She had deserved it after all. Once they had eaten breakfast all four of them were off to school. It really was unfortunate that Koyomi held no classes with her, but at least she had some courses with the boys, and that made her cheerful.

Upon arriving at the school, all her friends had greeted her and surprised her with all the notes she had missed during the four days. She half wondered if she'd ever be able to get back into study mode since she's been gone for so long. During her training, there was never any studying, just fighting and a lot of concentration.. And Zarame-kun..

She shook her head, and tried to focus on her current class. Though, she's rather blow of school and go zombie hunting with Shito and Chika. She now understood how her silver haired zombie friend felt, wanting to leave so much to go on a hunt. 'Focus!' Michiru mentally reminded, copying down notes into her book. She received a few worried glances from Chika but ignored them.

"Michiru-chan!!" Yumi called shortly after class.

Michiru turned briskly in the hall, blinking in confusion, "Y-Yumi-chan?"

"Why are you giving me that look?" Yumi pouted, walking with Michiru. "Can't I walk with you to your next class?"

"O-oh, of course! I-I didn't mean—"

"It's okay! Sheesh.. You're always so nervous!" Yumi scolded playfully, winking. "Anyways, I'm curious, why were you out of school so much? There's so many rumours going around! Were you really sick? Or did you run away with that new kid? Or—"

"E-eh? N-no! You're so silly, of course I was sick. I had a really bag stomach bug! Didn't Chika-kun or Shito-kun tell you?" Michiru asked innocently.

"No.."

"Oh well! Then again, you know how they are! They like to keep everything to themselves!" Michiru laughed sheepishly, rounding the corner to enter her next class.

"Right," Yumi agreed, entering the room as well.

Of course Chika had ditched the rest of his classes that day, finding school to be a waste of his time when he could be spending that valuable effort just sitting on the lower school roof. He was no goody goody when it came to the damn school system, and half wondered why Shito would never join him. It's not like he needed to be in school right now either..

"Damn pansy," Muttered the amber eyed male half-heartedly.

-X-

Chika was of course around for lunch, having worked up an appetite from searching for shapes hidden in what little clouds that would pass by. He was at his usual table with Michiru and Shito, inhaling his food instantly before the others could get in a bite of theirs.

Shito glared at Chika, "Do you mind? Your savage way of eating is causing me to loose my appetite, Akatsuki."

Chika mirrored the glare, "Oh is it now? How about we take this outside.. Jackass.."

Michiru nervously glanced between the two and sweat dropped, 'Of course they're the same as before. It's only been four days here…' She thought quietly. 'And Chika-kun seems to be acting like his normal self now. I wonder why he hugged me earlier? Was he really that worried?'

Then it happened.

With a small gasp, her entire body froze up.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

Her eye's dulled and turned stony cold.

"Kita-san?" Shito immediately asked, sensing the change in the atmosphere around her.

"Heh? Gopher? What's goin' on? Oi! Go-pher!" Chika growled, waving a hand in front of her olive green eyes.

Her dull gaze move up in seconds, her eye's connecting with fiery amber orbs. The gaze sent shivers of nervousness down Chika's spine, making him want to inch away from the girl and crawl under a rock. Something this girl had never made him feel before. "New.. ille-illegal zombie.. created.." She muttered so softly that Shito was barely able to catch it.

"No way." Chika voiced in disbelief.

Shito shook his head and glanced at his partner, "We're leaving now."

"Don't hafta tell me twice!" Chika snatched Michiru up from her chair causing her to snap out of her daze and look at the two boys in question.

"N-nani?! W-What's going on?" She asked in alarm.

"We're going to the ferryman's." Shito replied.

-X-

"Ah, so you can sense zombies now? How interesting, you're just like him now aren't you?" Bekko-san said in pure delight, though the enthusiasm did not touch his face.

"W-well, I can tell when a new one is created and determine the general location, but nothing exact. I can sense the minor ones much more clearly.. It's like comparing gold fish to a grizzly bear! Zara-kun never hunts the small fry because they aren't even worth the time, he only goes after the larger problems." Michiru explained.

"So, you mean we could be going on a zombie hunting fest, and fit in several guidance's right now if we wanted to?" Chika questioned slowly.

"Hai." Michiru answered.

"Very interesting! I only wish I could keep questioning you, but I know I would bore you and Chika-kun seems far too fired up to stay in here." Benko-san sighed, leaning his cheek against his hand as he leaned forward in his chair.

Yuuta hummed to himself as he clicked away on his computer, nodding to himself a few times before piping, "Chiru-Chiru is right, there is a new illegal zombie! And the price is a hefty one!"

"After one dies, a new one gets created." The ferryman mumbled gloomily.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!"

Shito uncrossed his arms and glared at his partner, "We should begin by clearing out the weak zombies, this way Kita-san may be able to locate the new zombie much better without any interference from the others."

"Theoretically speaking, that should help quite a bit." Yuuta agreed.

"Then let's go." Michiru announced, for once leading the group out with pride.

'I'm doing this for them, because I care. I want them to live freely. Is that so much to ask?'

Bekko-san's eye's followed them as they exited the office and slammed the door. He turned his chair and looked down from his window, watching the teens leave the Z-Loan building. "Yuuta-kun," He finally spoke, earning the boy's attention. "I have a meeting with the upper ups tonight. So keep watch over the office."

"Hai."

'Things are getting serious now.' Bekko-san thought as he loosened his tie slightly.

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**A/N Ahem, so as you can tell, there will be a third chapter. Woo! You should be happy! And another thing to be happy about is the fact that I have pics of Zarame in teenage form and Michiru in her new battle outfit including her weapons! Though, Michiru is in sketch.. You should still be happy! So just e-mail me directly from your e-mail accounts so I can send the pictures to ya, okay? My e-mail is on my profile page at the very bottom, so feel free to message via hotmail or gmail or whatever, okay? Remember to review or else the third chapter will never ever come out! Bawhahahahahahaha!!**

**P.S I swear.. This so called one shot idea of mine seems to be turning into a full blown fanfict.. Or maybe it'll just be three chapters.. Who knows!**

**R&R!!**


	3. Reaper's Power

**Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS! You guys are all amazing people and I do hope that you all enjoy this chapter! The beginning is basically like the 12th episode with a twist of some of the 13th episode in here. The rest is obviously done by me. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 3. Reaper's Power**

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"This meeting will now come to an order…" Began a serious voice, "Welcome seven Officer Ferrymen of the River Management Department, I'm your new president Hakka-chan! Nice to meet you allll!" He beamed with glee. No one spoke, though Bekko-san could not help but sigh lightly, pulling his white hood a little further down.

The room they were in had only a long mauve-ish table that held twelve seats, five of which were empty. It was a dark chamber and in it sat seven Ferrymen much like Bekko-san, cloaked in white uniforms with different coloured trims. They all had their hood on and all kept their faces bowed in a serious manner.

Hakka-san pouted slightly from everyone's silence, but then brushed his silver hair and continued, "We are now beginning the River Management Department Regulatory Committee meeting." He crossed his arms and glared at the seven Ferrymen, "Today's topic: a portion of the Akashic Record has been stolen."

The entire sitting Ferrymen flinched and turned to their leader, knowing the importance of the situation. "Of course we know the perpetrators are the Akashic Record Reform Committee, or otherwise known as ARRC." He continued earning some mild gasps from their existence.

"As far as we know, ARRC is an illegal organisation consisting of a few members of the WFO. There are rumours that they wish to reform the current fortune system, however we do not know who the traitors are and if any of them are currently in this room…"

Hakka-san smirked, "We do know that the Akashic Record is a record of the fate of the past, present and future of all things. To have this stolen and possibly altered could mean the disturbance of the natural circulation of souls. The power of this record goes as far as being able to create _illegal zombies_." He purred, "This poses as something bad for us since they are holding back souls that are meant to be sent to us by the Reaper. We're then expected to be guiding them across the River of the Dead to the shore. It's such a pain really, the disruption has already been occurring…"

One of the Ferrymen stood and pointed an accusing finger at Bekko-san, "He's been making zombies! He could—"

"I have permission from the higher ups to do so." He defended coolly.

"That is going beyond your abilities as a Ferryman!" Shouted another.

"Now now, we all know it is unsuitable for a Ferryman to be doing such a thing. Quite honestly though, it is ingenious. By forming these zombie hunters, he has been able to effectively slay the illegal zombies and transfer their souls to us. _We_ can't possibly do such a thing due to lack of power and time, and neither can the Reaper since he is already far too busy sending others souls to the afterlife. This leaves the Zombie-Loan boys to clean up while earning money to pay their debt to live once again. They have been the most successful yet to combat the ARRC committee." Hakka-san explained to them patiently, smiling almost secretively at Bekko-san.

"Which is why I decided to form my own group!!" He shouted cheerfully earning gasps from all the other Ferrymen. Bekko-san had merely stared in disbelief at the new leader and frown slightly, "Yes! I decided to try a new way to combat against ARRC. However, instead of using souls of the dead, I'm using living humans. They carry an unusual amount of power and have great stamina. They're perfect for the job and since I'm basing it off of Zombie-Loan, I decided to call it A-Loan, as in Alive-Loan!" The happiness from the president was practically oozing off of him as he sparkled proudly from his idea.

'_Alive-Loan_? This does not seem to be good for us..' Bekko-san thought with a small frown, glancing away from the disgustingly happy president.

-X-

"What did you just say Ferryman?!" Chika howled in protest, slapping both his hands on the desk loudly.

"Lower your voice, Akatsuki." Shito hissed threateningly.

Bekko-san pushed up his glasses in annoyance, "You have to collect 10,000,000 Yen before A-Loan can within a months time if you don't want your contract to be broken and for you to die. The higher ups don't see any reasoning for keeping both organisations if one can do better than the other."

"Why those ungrateful son of a—" Chika began to rant.

Michiru placed a hand on Chika's shoulder, "Chika-kun, pl-please calm down! We don't have to worry. As long as we work together they won't be able to win. Besides, I can locate zom—"

The door to the office had bursted open, three teens walking in casually as if they owned the place. "Oi, anybody home?!" A green haired, short boy hollered out with a grin, his arms casually placed behind his head as he walked.

"Who the hell are you!" Chika barked murderously, fangs virtually forming in his mouth in anger.

"If it weren't for the fact that we came to introduce ourselves, then I wouldn't tell you.. Heh, my name's _Inubashiri Zen_." The green haired boy continued to smirk, "My partners are _Touma Toko_, and _Tsugumi Shuji_. We're members of A-Loan, here to replace you old geezers."

"Why you stupid little brat.. I'm going to—"

"Akatsuki, calm yourself." Shito ordered smoothly, glaring at the newcomers.

The tall boy with headphones around his neck had strayed from the group to give Shito something, "Here, we brought moving in noodles for everyone as a gift." He said coolly, his blue hair reminding Michiru slightly of Shito.

"Thank you for the gift, it was really kind of you all." Michiru smiled, catching the green haired boy's attention almost instantly with her brightness.

"Well, we thought it would be nice since we know you guys aren't going to be here for very long. We plan on taking over your jobs. You know, out with the old in with the new. We're just naturally better at zombie hunting." Toko, the pink haired girl, replied to Michiru.

"Wh-what? Who're you calling old!" Chika growled in protest, his amber orbs glaring daggers at the pig-tailed girl. Seriously, who were these rookies? The looked like a bunch of brats from elementary school, especially the green haired kid.

"Well, your weapons and tactics are beyond old. Ours are new and more advanced. Of course we know this because we know everything about you and how your contracts were made. That's what makes you weak and us better." Zen spoke dully.

"You know everything about us?" Michiru tilted her head in question.

"Yes! For example, your first kiss was with a fellow female co-worker—" Toko began, Michiru sputtering as she blushed, "And you have the Grim Reapers Eyes. But that won't do you any good. You can hardly use them."

Although she appeared embarrassed and surprised, mentally was a different story. 'Sugoi, they only know part of my life but not all of it. I guess Zara-kun's meddling was never accounted for as something that happened in my life. It was just four blank days here in the human world.' She thought to herself, smiling sweetly at the green haired boy. He seemed nice and he was a little handsome.

"Finally! I have it! It's a rare Betty!" Shito exclaimed, revealing a small toy from the noodles. He appeared to have missed the exchanging of words while he searched through the toys to find the one he was missing.

"Cheh, damn it Shito, would you concentrate! Do you even know what's going on?!" Chika turned and shook Shito violently.

The blue haired boy had dropped his rare Betty and glared at his partner, "Let go of me, you're wrinkling my—"

…_Crack_…

He glanced over and noticed a foot had broken his doll, "O-oh Betty—!" He cried dramatically staring up at the murderer accusingly, "Y-you broke the rare Betty—!!" He gasped in horror.

"Ngh? Eh, sorry senpai, here I'll reimburse you for it." He dropped 350 Yen in Shito's hand. "I was just going to separate you two. I guess the plan backfired." He shrugged.

"350 Yen?! Do you know how long I've been waiting to get that one?! How much it cost me..?" Shito began to seethe.

"Oh, so you're a fanatic.. _Ew_.." He muttered.

"What. Was. That..?" Shito snapped, his red orbs glaring at the bored darkened ones, "Do you want to die, bastard?" He was seriously beginning to get pissed at this one, especially since he just knew exactly what to do to make Shito angry. This boy seemed almost exactly like his opposite, and he really didn't like it. For the most part, it was because it seemed like his Akatsuki-being-the-most-irritating-person-on-the-face-of-the-earth theory was just proven wrong now that this new idiot was in town.

"My name is not bastard, but Tsugumi Shuji.." He chewed his bubble gum and blew a bubble until it deflated across his lips messily.

"That's it! We're leaving now! Oi Yuuta, where's the nearest Zombie!" Chika shouted with a hint of challenge left in his voice.

"Ano…" He flicked his fingers over the keyboard and scrolled down, "Just a few blocks away.."

"We're off!" Chika said smugly.

"So are we." Zen smirked, silently accepting the challenge.

Both groups left in different directions.

"I say we kill them off," Chika offered as they jogged towards the Zombie sighting.

"N-next left," Michiru directed. "No Chika-kun, we can't just kill them, it wouldn't be very nice.. Besides, all we need to do is make enough money to run them out of business." She instructed.

Shito frowned, "We better do that sooner rather than later. I don't doubt their words that they are strong." They all turned the corner and ran straight down, having already spotted the Zombie limping towards a river. "Akatsuki." Shito had ordered, nodding to the white haired boy as they tossed each other's hands in the air for the exchange.

"Alright, incoming pay!" Chika cheered with a grin, forming his katana in his right hand. He leapt up and went in for the kill, until he was cut off by a green blur. Chika had stopped immediately, observing the two slashes that were made in the zombie.

"Too slow old man!" Zen mused from a few feet away, brandishing his twin swords with pride, "I'd move if I were you.."

A vein pulsed angrily on Chika's head as he cursed and shouted at the boy to mind his own business. Soon the sounds of a machine gun were heard, and the zombie was all too soon on the ground, leaving Chika and Shito flabbergasted. Michiru on the other hand observed the team as they destroyed the zombie, noting that Toko was just arriving out of breath much like how she used too.

Zen had guided the zombie to the afterlife and soon dematerialized his weapon, still sporting the same grin. "You loose." He stuck out his tongue childishly.

"How is it you arrived here sooner? You clearly left in another direction." Shito questioned, never tearing his eyes away from Shuji, the strange blue haired boy.

"We had another guidance in that direction, but it wasn't anything Shuji couldn't handle so he finished up while Zen left a little bit ahead to come here." Toko said smugly, smirking darkly. 'Out with the old, in with the new..'

"Oh, Zen-kun you're bleeding." Michiru gasped suddenly, running across the grassy plains to take a look at him. The poor boy had hardly noticed the injury until he could feel the oozing blood pour down his pale face. To this, he turned and shot glares at his team mate, "You! You shot me you inconsiderate prick!" He pointed an accusing finger at him.

Chika blinked and turned to Shito, "Mou Shito-kun, remind you of anyone?" He challenged.

"I don't know what you're talking about. My aim is perfect compared to this inexperienced fool." He countered, snorting at the thought of missing his target.

"Yea right! You shot me back at the monastery ya jerk!" He fumed.

Meanwhile, Michiru sighed as the boys fought with each other and merely ignored them. It wasn't like it was abnormal for them to fight, but it was strange that this new team seemed to be so much like them. She dabbed Zen head wound carefully with her handkerchief, cleaning the wound nicely before planting a band-aid on the cut.

"It's alright, your head was only grazed by the bullet." She announced cheerfully, catching his attention once more.

The boy merely blushed and turned away, "Keh! I didn't need your help! … But thanks anyways glasses-chan."

On the other side of the field, Toko winced and sent death glares at Michiru. Anyone could see that she didn't like how close Michiru was getting to her team mate, and with that reason in mind she had concentrated her power to locate a new zombie.

"E-eh? M-my name is—"

"Oi! Gofer! What are you doing helping _them_. Let's go already!" Chika snapped in a pout.

"Zombie located north-west from here." Toko announced, her head bowed and her fingers glowing.

Zen turned towards her regrettably and then back to Michiru, smiling kindly, "See ya around glasses-chan." He said, leaving with Toko and Shuji to the next location.

As soon as they were out of sight, Michiru had turned to the boys and taken off her glasses, "I say, we continue hunting." She offered optimistically.

Chika was about to comment when Shito had beaten him to it, having dematerialized his gun already he had stared at the girl seriously, "Did you notice their speed? I doubt we can match that. However we do have something they don't."

"Yes, they may have speed, but we're more intelligent than they give us credit for." She glanced up at the sky, "Without knowing it, they've been clearing a good path for me to locate the larger priced zombies. I think, we should go for them." The wind blew her pinkish hair gently, and she closed her eyes enjoying the sensation as she transformed into her battle form. Her short, white, wispy cape also blew with the wind, her smile broadening.

"Let's go, I can sense a strong zombie south from here."

Chika blinked in amazement and stared at her, "So, these guys are actually helping? Does this mean we still have a chance?" He question aloud.

Shito gave him an are-you-stupid look and sighed, "Move Akatsuki, we're going to have to run fast to be able to keep up with Kita-san."

Michiru pulled white fur hood over her face, her cloak lengthening in the process as she began to run towards their destination. The only visible part of her face was a small smirk as the boys followed her figure bounding off building tops. Yes, her clothing that she had first returned in from Zarame-sama's dimension does rematerialize on her body whenever she awakens her power to battle. Much like the boys can form weapons from ectoplasm, she can form her clothes and her weapons just as easily with a glow of pink-ish white light.

Kita Michiru is not a cruel person, but when life gives you lemons, well, she can't help but use them to make herself some tasty lemonade. Those A-Loan teens seemed very nice, and were doing a great job at clearing the way for them. So of course she wouldn't fight with them, she would treat them kindly and let them keep doing their jobs. In the end, Z-Loan would end up not only taking down the big guys, but also some minor ones on the side leaving them in the lead.

The three teens had grudgingly returned back to the dorms that night. The new high priced zombie was taken care of leaving Chika in an almost permanent good mood, while Shito was indifferent. Michiru couldn't help but notice the boy's behaviours returning to their usual ones, unlike when she first arrived back. They were constantly glued to her side and on top of that, Chika-kun was flirting with her. Her. Kita Michiru. She honestly couldn't tell if he was just plain insane to be flirting with the Grim Reapers girlfriend, or if he was being really sweet. But one thing was certain, he had tried to kiss her just yesterday. Well, more like last night before bed.

He was being sweet to her, and saying how much he had missed her. All of this had happened while she was standing at her doorway about to go to sleep. Eventually he had started to dip down to kiss her, and she panicked. If it weren't for Koyomi's interruption, she probably would have made the hugest mistake of all. What kind of girlfriend would go around kissing someone other than her boyfriend? Even though it was so very tempting.. She had wanted to kiss him.. Though she couldn't figure out for the life of her why she would want to.

Curiosity?

Maybe. She had had a crush on Chika-kun in the past before Zara-kun had come into the picture. Though she had wanted to kiss Chika-kun, she knew that even if it had happened, it wouldn't have felt anything like how Zara-kun kissed her. He swept her completely off her feet with each kiss he gave her. Made her feel tingly right down to her toes and her heart skip a beat. He made her feel like the best woman in the world. And most of all, he made her happy.

Strange.. His aura seemed so close to her. And yet she knew that he was most likely on the other side of the world right now. No, she could feel him, and he was close by. Except that, it felt wrong. It felt so wrong this aura. It was like him, but not at the same time.

Michiru stood from her spot on her bed and closed her eyes. Yes, she could see it now. The form of the person who held his aura and intermingled it with his own… That's why it felt so wrong. It was a dark aura, one that was very similar to that of an.. an.. Illegal zombie. One she knew..

Alarm bells were ringing in her mind warning her not to move any further. Too bad she always tended to ignore those bells. With one final mental push, she was able to focus on the person's power just in time to see what was making him so strong.

'Bright, green, light.'

Then, everything went black.

-X-

"Michiru! Oi, Michiru-chan!" Chika shook her again. He growled and had cursed loudly before picking her up from her floor and placing her gently on her bed. He had heard a pretty loud thump noise from her room and guessed the clumsy girl had hurt herself. He didn't think she would have passed out like she did! "Damn it, you stupid gofer." He cursed, tucking her into bed.

"Akatsuki!" Shito entered the girl's room quickly, "What the hell is wrong? I could hear your shouting from miles away!" He scowled at the silver haired boy, crossing his arms in disapproval.

"Cheh! I ain't that loud shit-Shito! You're imagining things! I bet you were the only one who heard me!" Chika countered in a fiery manner.

"What's with all the yell—ing over here?" A very sleepy Sotetsu yawned from the doorway, scratching his very naked chest tiredly. No, he wasn't completely nude, but had a set of red boxers on.

"I do not imagine things Akatsuki." Shito glared, staring past his idiotic partner to the bed. His ruby eyes had shifted to Chika's before he went in and snatched his partner by the throat, "Did you harm Kita-san in anyway or were you trying to take advantage of her in her sleep you filthy pile of trash?"

Sotetsu whistled lowly, "Whoa boys, calm down. There's no need to fight about anything. How about we just get out of here and go get some—" He froze in mid sentence, taking in the glares that were being sent to him by both Z-Loan boys. "Eheh, I'll just go back to my room now." He chuckled nervously, backing away from the angry pair.

"Well? Which of them is it? What happened to Kita-san..?" Shito continued, grasping his partner's throat even more tightly.

"Ch-cheh, let go of me you crazy doll collecting lunatic!" He wheezed, his amber eyes never ceasing their glares in the bright red ones. "I found her passed out! Now lemme go!" He struggled.

Shito frowned and dropped Chika, contemplating how long it would take for him to steal his right hand from Chika-kun so that he could use his pistol to shoot the idiot in the foot. Yes, that would be a very good stress reliever...

"—Then I put her in her stupid bed and you guys showed up—Hey are you even listening to me?!"

Oops, Shito had tuned his partner out again. It seemed to be becoming a nasty habit these days.. "As soon as she wakes, we will question her." He replied, his face void of all emotions as he approached Michiru's bed. He had gently placed a hand on her forehead and nodded to his partner, "She has no fever, so she must have done something to exhaust her body."

"What? But what could she have done? She was just in here doin' nothin'! Tonight wasn't even such a difficult hunt for us." Chika muttered only loud enough for Shito to hear.

He had stepped away from the bed, turning to his partner briefly before setting out to exit the room, "There are many things we have yet to know about Kita-san. Remember, she had left us for four years Akatsuki." With that said, he had left the confused boy sitting on the floor to go to his own room.

-X-

Days had gone by with no unusual occurrences. The morning after Michiru's blackout, her friends had questioned her about it. Except that she couldn't remember how or why she had fainted, only that she thought Zarame-kun was around but was mistaking. After that, everything was as it should be. The continued their hunt for the more expensive zombies without any problems and then they were back to school in no time.

Chika could hardly stay put as they listened to presentations of student's projects and such. All the boy cared about was beating the other team, but Michiru had grudgingly convinced him that the A-Loan group had school as well and couldn't skip like they could. The girl had told him that she would skip school to help their cause, but she only agreed to do it if she could attend a few days of the week.

Shito on the other hand had no problems with it and hardly complained. Though, most of the time he acted like a robot and tuned out all the useless information without any problems. He was a patient person and waiting one day to go hunt zombies was nothing for him to complain about. Sometimes, he wondered why his partner couldn't be a little more like him. But nooo, that would be far too much to ask the gods. He leaned a little more into his hand and huffed boredly, wondering if Chika would ever stop trying to have a conversation with him during the presentations.

'He bores me with his constant annoyance.. Maybe if I could think of something else.. Use my time now to think of more important matters such as Kita-san's incident,' He thought to himself, staring emptily at the speaker in front of the classroom. 'She had said that she thought she could sense the Reaper, but it wasn't him. Maybe there's someone else out there that has powers like her?'

"Oi—! Are you even listening to me ya jerk!" Chika whispered harshly at his arrogant partner.

'No, it isn't possible for there to be another Reaper out there.. Heh, I don't like where this is going. I have a feeling we have a very strong opponent ahead of us.' He mentally concluded just as a paper ball came flying at his head, hitting him lightly with a distinct ruffle noise. He had narrowed his eyes and turned agitatedly to Chika, glowering at him.

Currently, half the class was staring at the two exchanging glares rather than the presentation just ahead of them.

"..Akatsuki.." He muttered dangerously.

"Cheh, shit-Shito." He greeted back carelessly.

-X-

"Michiru-chan!!" Waved Yumi, beckoning the girl to come to their lunch table. "Did you hear?! Boy A and Boy B got into a fight during their second period class!" She squealed as Michiru took her seat next to her.

"Nani..? That's why I can't find them.. What happened?" Michiru cocked her head to the side, imagining every possible scenario that could have happened between the two.

"Apparently Boy A said something nasty and threatened Boy B, then Boy B had gotten up and taken his desk and thrown it at Boy A." She began, sighing dreamily along with the rest of the girl, "Boy B is strong.. and handsome.."

"E-eh!" Michiru's glasses were sliding down her nose in shock. She had sighed silently and muttered, "I can't believe they did that here.. Oh wait… Hai, I can believe it." She laughed dryly.

"Well anyways, their supposed to be on their way to the principles office—"

The door to the cafeteria bursted open, and in walked a bickering pair of boys that soon turned and sent their angry looks to opposite walls. It was clear to everyone that there was tension between the two and Michiru dreaded the only way to relieve the tension. She had really wanted to stay in school today and have a nice conversation with Yumi-chan and the rest of the girls, but clearly someone up there did not like her.

"Oi," Chika called in more of a growl than anything once he reached her table.

"A-ano… Can't I at least finish my lunch?" Michiru asked timidly, wanting to finish her food before leaving. She was prepared to hear some very loud complaining, but nothing ever did come. She only received a curt nod from the silver haired boy and a small smile from Shito-kun. They had left and she had happily finished her meal with her friends mentally noting that she was slowly having a positive effect on them.

'I haven't eaten with the girls since Friday! I'm so glad—.. glad I—' She blinked her olive green eyes in confusion, lifting her head slightly to concentrate better, 'I—I can feel that presence again. Just like Zara-kun's! But it isn't.. It's familiar.. I know I felt it before… It isn't far—' She blinked again, 'It's gone.' She frowned, heavily confused.

"—I know, they're such rebels!—"

"..Skipping out on the principles office..."

"..I think I'm in love—!!"

'What was that? And how did it.. Disappear like that?' The remainder of the meal was eaten in silence on her part, but no one seemed to notice anyways.

-X-

The glow from the zombie loan blade faded slowly and dispersed into the sky, "Guidance complete.. Oi, how much was that one worth Shito-kuuuun?" Chika chirped, bouncing to his partner's side joyfully.

Shito had grunted in response, staring boredly at his chequebook, "Clearly not enough, but worth more than the other whelps." He dematerialized his pistol and stared at Chika's excited amber pools. "Aren't you going to put away your katana?"

'Oh no, I think I hear a fight coming on..' Michiru mentally whimpered, groaning slightly since they had finally gotten into better spirits.

"Keh! I will when I feel like it! I don't need you telling me what to do shit-Shito! Hey, Gopher! Where's the next one?!" Chika called over, resting his katana on his shoulder haughtily.

Her glasses had slipped slightly down her nose as she stared in shock at them. They really were getting better at this whole 'being nice' thing. Chika had hardly blown up at Shito like he usually does, "A-ano.. j-just five blocks away from here, near a cemetery this time." She replied in a stutter.

"Alright, first one to get to it doesn't have to buy dinner." Chika pointed his katana accusingly at Shito-kun's face, "I'll finally show you how much better a katana is compared to your cheap toy gun." He challenged.

Se had sweat dropped and practically fallen over, but at least they didn't tear pieces off of each other like they used to. Besides that, if she were part of this challenge, she could easily beat them to it, but lying low for a while seemed like a good idea for the time being. She wouldn't use her powers except for the stronger zombie's since she didn't want to draw the attention of their rivals.

"You're going to loose, you vile piece of trash." Shito cursed back, running ahead of Chika with a small grin.

"H-hey! You cheater! I didn't say go—Grrr ah!" Chika sprinted after him with his katana still materialized for the world to see.

"E-eh! W-wait for me!" She trotted after them, trying her best not to trip over any random objects that littered the ally way. In her other form she was much more aware and precautious of her environment, but as a human, things were a little difficult on her since her senses were slightly dimmed.

She could feel her shoes soak in the water from various puddles and the smell of garbage felt like it would never leave her nose in peace. She could feel the wind whip her lavender pink hair back and caress her skin. And now, she could hear the distant shouting of… Zen-kun? It hadn't taken her long to find a group of five standing at the cemetery. Two of which were from her group and the others.. "A-Loan..?" She whispered, slowing to a stop behind her friends, slightly out of breath.

"That was clearly our claim you little pip-squeak!" Chika roared in anger, brandishing his sword at the smaller boy's throat.

"There clearly weren't any claims on it you over grown prick!" Zen challenged back, knocking away the katana with one of his twin blades effortlessly. "Moreover, I'm no little pip-squeak! I'm a third year student you jackass."

"Why you damn two foot nothin' little— How can you be older than me you—!"

Michiru began to panic and waved her hands around to grab her associates attention, "Chika-kun! Please, don't fight—!"

"Are you taking his side!?" He hurled at her darkly.

"Glasses-chan!" Zen had also shouted simultaneously when his opponent had howled.

Toko had visibly winced and had looked fiercely at the other girl in jealously, crossing her arms stubbornly. She clearly ignored the fighting and especially the other woman childishly, not caring if the boy's fought all night. If she couldn't separate Zen's lovey dove eyes from her then she could at least scare her off with her anger and cold shoulder effect.

"U-um," She whimpered away from Toko's visible dark aura of anger and scooted closer to Shito-kun. "Hi Zen-kun, how are you?" She asked kindly.

"I'm great—" He got cut off due to the strong bruising pain coming from his left foot. "—A-ai!!—Itai! Itaaaiiii!" He whimpered loudly, clutching his abused foot protectively while turning to the whistling white haired man. "You dick! That was a low blow!"

"Cheh, well I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for your damn flirting! Jeez, leave her alone ya baka!" Chika ordered hotly, dematerializing his weapon.

"Will all of you be quiet. Your voices are far louder put together and they're frustrating.." Shito muttered smoothly, having placed a delicate hand on his head to counter the oncoming headache.

"Why don't you shut up, you baka! If it weren't for your constant stopping to pull your stupid socks back up, we would have gotten here much sooner!"

"What was that…?" He asked dangerously, "Last I recalled, it was a race and you didn't have to wait for me to pull up my socks. You could have ceased your mocking and gone ahead. Besides, they bother me when they fall to my ankles." He defended, anger slowly bubbling.

"You should be thankful I was giving you a chance to catch up to me each time you stopped to fix those stupid socks! I was playin' fair! You should just tape your socks to your damn legs, that way we wouldn't have to stop so damn much!" Chika shouted loudly.

"Mou.. Can we leave Zen? I'm getting tired of listening to the doll fanatic and the old man fight." Shuji sighed boredly.

"I guess—"

_"Doll fanatic?"_

_"Old man..?"_

At this point, Michiru could do nothing but turn her head back and forth between the boys in full out panic. The last thing she wanted was a brawl to break out, especially when they all had weapons. Well, they weren't using them yet—oh now they are.. 'Why can't we just get along? What's so wrong with that idea?' She had wanted to say, but feared that she would only be dragged into this if she said a word.

On top of all that, she knew Chika-kun was angry with her for befriending Zen-kun. He didn't want her to have anything to do with the A-Loan team, but she couldn't help it. Like she mentioned earlier, she needed them. But maybe Chika didn't understand that? Possibly explaining to him a little more clearly seemed like a good idea and a very good topic to bring up as soon as they got back home hopefully sometime before sundown.

Her mind had slowly reeled back to reality when she could see that a machine gun was being pointed at Shito-kun. She could have sworn she heard the seconds tick by as she sprinted out of habit to protect her friend. Yes, she was a fool for doing it, but what made it even worse was the fact that she did it without using any of her powers, which put her in mortal danger.

And yet she stood there protectively, her arms spread out in front of Shito-kun's body, ready to take any bullets. Though Chika-kun and Zen-kun had been using very much verbal abusing, they had yet to draw their weapons out and simply stared at Michiru in shock instead.

Not only was she being silly, but in addition, incredibly stupid since she was clearly not thinking. No matter how many times Shito-kun would get shot, he probably wouldn't die. It would be very painful, but in the end, he was already dead. Obviously, she was thinking more with her heart than her mind at the moment.

"Oh? You're protecting senpai? Don't think I won't shoot you because you're a girl. You're still our enemy and it would make things easier if you were dead anyways." He said in his usual gloomy voice, his finger slowly pressing down on the trigger.

"—Michi—!" Chika began to yell in alarm.

The bullet's had fired.

"N-no Shuji—!" Zen screamed as well.

A long black cloak washed over the oncoming bullet in one quick sweep, turning them to dust.

No one had seen it coming, or rather _him_.

He was so enraged, that it was a wonder why he didn't kill Shuji. Instead he had decided to let him off on a warning, courtesy of his beloved's wish… His scythe was at Shuji's throat either way, his eye's showing absolutely no mercy within his storming violet pools. His auburn hair glistened in the sunlight along with the metal from his blade as he pushed it harder against Shuji's throat.

"Zarame-kun—!" Michiru had managed to squeak out in a strangled cry.

"_If you ever_," He began in the most deadliest voice ever heard to man, "_dare try to touch her with your degraded weapon again.._" The curved blade sliced the skin on his neck with ease. His scythe was placed so that the curve practically wrapped around his enemy's neck while his other bandaged hand held his victim in place by the scruff of his shirt. His black cloak blew behind his body, but not due to any form of elemental winds but because of his bellowing aura of destruction. It was so strong that it was causing a form of demonic wind around his body.

"_I will reap your soul far _earlier_ than intended_." With that said, he had backed away in one swift movement and protectively in front of Michiru, his bandaged hand gripping the handle of his weapon tightly to emphasize his threat as his power never diminished one bit.

The air around the cemetery had frozen solid, literally. Frost was slowly forming on the tombstones and coating the grass, giving it a crisp wintery look in the middle of a sunny hot day. Everyone was chilled to the bone from this man. Only the Grim Reaper could make them feel this afraid and shocked to the point where they could do nothing but watch helplessly. No one could take on the Grim Reaper and live to tell the tale. He was the bringer of death! Enough said.

Shuji had been beyond frightened and shocked. His whole body was visibly shaking with fear and he could do nothing but nod wide-eyed at the Reaper. His weapon was gone and with the help of Toko, the group had retreated to recover from the disbelief of seeing _the_ Grim Reaper threaten them.

Once he was sure they were gone, he had turned to his friends, earning a tight embrace from Michiru almost instantly. "Zarame-kun!" She piped happily, as if nothing had happened. She had missed being in his strong, warm embrace. His well-toned muscles hugged her back comfortably and made her smile even more. She had carefully tilted her head upwards against his chest to look into his relieved indigo orbs, and was immediately passionately kissed by the auburn boy.

His scythe was gone in a glow, leaving him with one hand wrapped around her waist to bring her in even more tightly against him and his other hand caressing her cheek lovingly as his lips grazed hers. She had let out a small moan of approval before blushing in embarrassment, her cheeks feeling very warm under his fingertips. Though he found it to be adorable, and also adored hearing her heart beat loudly and quickly against her chest. He had trailed his hand away from her heart shaped face and back down to her waist as he ended the kiss with a series of small kisses to tear away for some much needed air.

Shito and Chika nearly fell over at the sight and exchanged glances before deciding to back off for a bit. Though Chika couldn't help but comment about the strange frost that seemed to coat all the tombstones in their area. Shito had motioned to him that now wasn't the moment and had dragged him a little way's away, not really interested in watching the other two make out.

-X-

"I'm here solely for the purpose of retrieving my previous core." Zarame had reluctantly changed into a school uniform and was now standing very awkwardly in the dorms with everyone, safe for Koyomi who had some errand to run and the usual Otsu-san and the funeral management man.

They were all in Michiru's very snug dorm. Those who sat around a small table that was set up were Bekko-san, Yuuta-kun, Chika-kun and Sotetsu. Shito merely stood and Michiru sat comfortably on her bed while watching Zarame speak. The pale skinned boy also stood and leaned against the wall for support, keeping his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Your previous core?" Yuuta repeated strangely, "I don't understand…"

"It's simple. All immortal beings have something called a core that keeps them alive. It's rare for someone to be able to steal an immortals core, but it can be done. Also, if ever this core were to be destroyed, than the being would die. In this case however, the Shinigami had his core stolen by a human he was reaping." Bekko-san explained in a huff, earning thankful glances from the other occupants of the room.

"The human had surprised me. I don't even think he knew what he did until it was too late for me. I was in my barrowed form for a while under your care until I was able to create a new core and sustain a proper body again." He chewed the inside of his cheek nervously, "The human who took it just recently merged it with his soul and is now using my power to do as he wishes."

Michiru gasped, something finally clicking in her head as she remembered.

'_Bright, green, light.'_

"Your core is green! Isn't it?" She insisted suddenly.

"All cores are bright green and glowing. Mine was no exception." Zarame replied coolly, "I take it you've been sensing it too then?"

All eyes were on her, causing her face to heat into crimson. She didn't want this to be a huge deal, but apparently it was, "I-I've been feeling your presence around here for a while. But at the same time it doesn't r-really feel like it's you. There's another aura laced with yours and it's been appearing and disappearing a lot." She answered timidly, fiddling with her fingers absently.

"So, you guys mean to tell me that there's some baka out there parading around our little town with the Shinigami's power at his fingertips?!" Sotetsu blared out in disbelief.

"That's what I've been trying to say. Hai, there is a soul out there using my powers. I haven't been able to locate him as of yet, but I do know he is near your Z-Loan building." Zarame-kun informed, darting his eyes to Bekko-san's.

"..Interesting…" The Ferryman mumbled to himself, deep in thought. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and leaned against his hand.

"Hence the location of this meeting, correct?" Shito had asked, sighing as he pushed himself off the wall to stand up straight, "The Z-Loan building is not safe to speak in anymore."

"That building is under constant watch. There is a force there that surrounds the office and I don't like it." His violet eyes glimmered with a slight hate until he refocused them on Michiru. "One thing that I'm positive this enemy is unaware of, is Michiru-chan's growing power. That's the only advantage you have against him."

"Damn it all! First Z-Loan is being threatened to get shut down 'cause of A-Loan, and now this bullshit of some stupid spineless human who's out there using powers he stole from the Reaper to cause havoc?! What else could possibly make this situation even worse?" Chika snarled viciously, throwing his hand up as if punching the air.

"You just jinxed us you baka.." Shito muttered with a sigh.

The Reaper at this point seemed a little amused but still angry nonetheless as he moved so he could sit next to Michiru on her bed. He had smirked almost evilly due to what the fates apparently had in store for everyone and announced, "I know the identity of the mortal who took my powers. Well technically he's immortal now but.. He is someone you fought with in the past."

That had grabbed all their attention. Generally the people they fought with were strictly zombies, and none of them have survived at this point. Which only left them with the thought of it being, "An A-Loan member?!" Chika shouted first, "I bet it's that Zen kid! When I see him I'll—" His rant was interrupted by the logical answer that usually came from Shito, the more brilliant partner.

"Impossible. Inubashiri-san was much too frightened when the Shinigami saved Michiru." Shito had carelessly popped Chika's theory even though the silver haired boy had tried to come back with an excuse that the brat could have been faking fear. Except that Shito insisted that Inubashiri-san was sincerely afraid and not acting.

"So, if it's not them… Then who..?" Sotetsu dared to question aloud.

"A zombie that you failed to completely slay. A zombie that I had almost successfully reaped." Zarame drawled out, "An old friend of yours, Akatsuki-kun." Yes, the gods must be really amused by now with all this drama. Because the look that came from Chika's face was the most horrible look he had ever scene. A mix of confusion with depression and terrible sadness had obviously washed over the boy and left him in silence.

"The good news is," Zarame tried to lighten the mood slightly. "If you effectively guide his soul to the other world, then your debt will be completely paid off."

Now that was something to look forward to, wasn't it?

_'…Shiba-kun…'_

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**A/N It's been a while ne? Well, I updated! And I'm damn proud of this chapter! Oh yes.. So I hope you all liked it! And obviously there's gunna be another one. So stay tuned!!!!!! And if you guys didn't read up there, just so you know there are some parts that were taken from the 12th and 13th episodes of ZOMBIE-LOAN. So like just so you know.. and the rest is moi.. oh and REVIEW! :)**

**Shito: See, you just jinxed yourself.. Baka, this wouldn't have happened if you had kept your mouth shut.**

**Chika: Mou, Shito-kuuuun shut up before I break your face. I'm already enough sad as it is..**

**Sotetsu: I know what will cheer you up!! –bounces in front of Chika- A trip to an exotic place where the food is beyond delicious! –beams-**

**Chika: Go away loser..**

**Michiru: There's a new zombie worth a lot of money--**

**Chika: Nani? Where? We're going! Oi! Shito! Get your ass in gear! We're leaving! –marches out-**

**Shito: Does he even know where he's going…?**

**Michiru: Nope..**

**Sotetsu: Heh.. that could be problematic… R&R!!!**


	4. Reaper's Spirit

**Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N GUYS AND GALS! ENJOY! I really hope you like this!! And so sorry for the wait!**

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 4. Reaper's spirit**

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Torrential rain had plagued the city shortly after the meeting that was held within Michiru's dorm room that night. It was as if Mother Nature herself could feel the sorrow and bitterness that pulsed from the depressed silver haired teenager. As such, she too found herself to be sad and cried for him in hopes that her tears would wash away his sorrows. However, no such outcome had ever occurred that night or the next day for that matter.

Chika had remained disheartened especially when he viewed the weather, the still pouring rain, as an ill omen. Even Shito-kun, with his wise remarks and irritating-ness that _is_ Shito-kun hadn't even made the usual hot-tempered boy burst out in any way. No, it wasn't until they all confronted him, that he had been able to snap himself out of his bubble of misery. Though, it wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter..

"Listen boy," Threatened a clearly pissed off Grim Reaper in a harsh tone, "You are clearly not understanding the issue at hand and the product of it all."

"M-maybe if you lowered you're scythe, he would listen?" Suggested a timid voice.

"Hardly, this usually helps wake him up. In fact, I could assist him if I could get my right hand.."

Golden eyes had blinked once, then twice, and had taken in the surroundings. Hm, in the crappy dinning room being poked at with a scythe and yelled at by three people. They couldn't just leave him to wallow in his unhappiness? Why was he unhappy again?

"By helping this soul cross over, a soul that was never meant to be tampered with in the first place, you will be able to pay off your entire debt. You will be free of the black ring around your neck, you will be human and have your hand back. You can also finally be with your family. Isn't that what you want? Because if it isn't, then I clearly have learned nothing during the time I floated above Michiru-chan's shoulder in my borrowed form." This somewhat encouraging speech had actually come from the slayer of souls with the menacing amethyst eyes, slightly surprising Chika.

"… Human..?"

The pressure on his neck created by the scythe was removed as soon as the word was muttered out. Michiru was the first to beam, "That's right! You can become human again, and live with your father and sister."

"Nee-chan…" He focused his eyes on Michiru now finally seeing her. Of course, how could he be so blind? The whole point of making money, of slaying zombie's, was so he could return to his family. Well, mostly his little sister, he'd rather pretend his father never existed. Still, he would be hunting his best friend so that he could free himself.

Seeing this sudden flicker of doubt, Shito had immediately spoken, "He chose his path Akatsuki. He could have joined us and freed himself from the ring but chose not to. He wanted to move on."

"But now—!" Chika bursted, interrupted by Zarame-kun almost instantly.

"—Now he's different. He's been different ever since his soul had been retied to this world. Now with my previous core he is driven by power and a dark desire to slay others. He is not the same person he once was, but a threat to this world. Understand that, Akatsuki." He said as a matter of fact, not in a way that made him out to be a prick.

Michiru had laced her hand into Zarame's, knowing that he felt somewhat at fault for such a huge matter to have developed. The entire thing had been an accident and a complete fluke but still managed to make him feel slightly guilty. This white and black haired boy was his girlfriend's friend, and special to her. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel sad in any way. She had learned this from him when they were training in his realm.

The first time she had cried was because she felt guilty about leaving Chika-kun, Shito-kun, and Yumi-chan back in the real world. She hated it and when she saw how he reacted to her tears, it made her feel even worse. Like everything was her fault, her family's death, the increase in zombies, global warming, animal extinction… And just everything…

_"Please don't cry, I will return you now if you truly desire it. I promise not to trouble you anymore after that, I give you my word if only you will cease your crying, Michiru-chan." His bandaged finger had tenderly brushed away her tears, leaving a tingly feeling along her cheek._

She felt him squeeze her hand back, snapping her out of her flashback. Finally, they were able to get through to Chika, and she hadn't even noticed it until she noted that he wasn't leaning against the wall of the dining room anymore. In fact he was actually very lively yelling at Shito for something incredibly ridiculous.

"Are you alright Michiru-chan? You seem lost about something." He asked worriedly, tuning the background noise out completely.

The olive-eyed girl blushed cutely before shaking her head, "E-eh, n-no. It's nothing, just remembering some moments with you." She stuttered out, half expecting him to smirk or grin sexily at her. Instead, he had pulled her over into his arms and kissed her nose.

"Any particularly good moments?" He inquired in a sexy husky voice, dragging his lips over to caress her cheek next.

She knew he could feel the heat from her cheeks as he kissed her, because she felt his lips turn into his famous smirk. "A-ano.. I've experienced many delightful moments with you.." She replied in a slightly hesitant voice, her eyes drooping.

He chuckled, kissing down her jaw line lovingly while rubbing small circles on her back, "Such as..?" He spoke in the same deep voice.

She had completely closed her eyes and sighed happily, smiling shyly, "The first time you kissed me." She spoke in a coy whisper, feeling his surprisingly soft lips on hers in what started out as a chaste kiss.

While the couple continued their activities, Chika and Shito had ceased their arguing and decided to make lunch. They figured the sooner they were done eating, the sooner they could get out to start hunting again despite the rain and school.

So far the Z-Loan hunters had the advantage against the A-Loan wannabe hunters. What with them being zombies, they really did not feel the need to go to school, and its not like the rain would make them sick either since they were already dead. On top of that, they had the Gopher as a secret weapon.

Speaking of which…

"Oi! Gopher! Stop making out with the Shinigami already!" Chika bellowed, "We need to eat then go hunting!" He continued in a whine.

Zarame had pulled away from a very flustered Michiru sighing in disappointment, "Cheh, jealous?" He challenged, shooting Chika-kun a haughty look sported by a smirk.

"What?!" He leapt up onto the dinning room table childishly, "You're a dead man! Rrrrah! Lemme at 'im!" He was about to jump off the table to tackle the purple eyed man but was sudden pushed back by a very strong arm. The poor boy had screeched before landing on the floor with a big thump.

"Jeez Chika, are you always this loud in the morning? Man, where's the food at in this place anyways?" A very sleepy Sotetsu grumbled in a tired voice, looking around the room for any form of food.

"Grrrah! Sotetsu! What the hell didja do that for?" A very pissed Chika groaned from the floor.

"It isn't morning anymore either, it's actually past mid afternoon." Shito had added smartly.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eye, Sotetsu had yawned and cracked his back, "Mm, yeah. Like I said it's morning.. You guys should have made food by now, why isn't there anything here? Did you eat it all?!" He asked in a mortified tone.

"Act-actually, we haven't made anything yet. We can go do that right now." Michiru had piped, finally able to relocate her voice again.

"I don't need to eat, I should actually be leaving right now Michiru-chan." Zarame told her, kissing her temple gently, "There's a lot of tracking that needs to be done."

"Can't we team up and do it together?" Michiru asked unhappily, her eyes clouded with confusion.

"You need to remain with your friends and lead them where you feel is best. I need to track the one who's responsible for beginning this whole ordeal." He insisted, "I'll be there to protect you if you're in trouble… But for now I need to find the source that is watching the Z-Loan building."

Grudgingly, Shito had spoken up and agreed with the Reaper, noting that it would be good to determine whom they were dealing with. "This might help us find out who it is that is disturbing the fate of these souls that are meant to pass over to the next world."

"Besides Gopher, we need your senses. As much as I hate to admit it, your boyfriend is right. We can't do our job without you." Chika added with a scowl, not enjoying agreeing with his partner or the reaper.

She smiled sadly and nodded, finally agreeing to everything. Once the goodbyes were said, Zarame was gone and brunch had been made. Sotetsu had left the dorms with a content smile on his face, patting his full belly with a chuckle. Of course, the kitchen was practically empty, not much food left anywhere for anyone.

"We'll have to ask Koyomi to go shopping when she gets back from school." Chika muttered.

"We should get going. If we plan on tracking during the day then we shouldn't waste our time." Shito pointed out, acting as the fearless leader for the day.

-X-

The door to the Z-Loan office had creaked open, drawing dull golden eye's up from his work sheets to peer at the visitor. Bekko-san had leaned back into his chair and sighed lightly, preparing himself for an oncoming headache, "Mr. New President." He greeted.

Said person had smiled almost darkly at Bekko-san before drastically changing his mood, "Bekko-chaaan! How many times have I told you not to be so formal! It's Hakka-chan!" He sobbed dramatically, "Don't you care about my feelings?"

The Ferryman continued staring at his unstable President, waiting for the reason behind the visit. He didn't mind Hakka-san that much, but sometimes he could be a hand full and well, annoying. Bekko-san wasn't the type to be cheerful all the time, especially during serious matters.

"Mou, you're not any fun anymore.." Hakka slightly pouted, crossing his arms. He had straightened himself out and resumed being serious, carrying a strange look in his eyes as he gazed at Bekko-san, "I've been looking at the test scores so far. Have you seen them?"

"You mean the money count for the hunts? I haven't even cared to look yet since it's only been a few days. Should I be watching it?" Bekko-san asked, blinking in slight confusion.

Hakka had narrowed his eyes in annoyance, taking Bekko-san's confusion as being a sign of arrogance. "How is it, that in merely days, your group of Z-Loan hunters have been able to rack up close to half of the amount necessary to win? And yet my group, equipped with advanced weapons and tracking, have only been able to collect less than a quarter of the total."

Turning his chair, he now viewed the outside world being drenched in rain. He paid closed attention to everything outside, his eye's flickering momentarily to see Hakka-san's face reflected in the glass as he spoke, "Perhaps my group is far more experienced than you gave them credit for." He spoke smoothly, noting his visitor's mouth twitch into a frown. "They also seem to get very motivated when they need to meet a deadline," He decided to add, not wanting to let on that his team had any form of extra power that he didn't have.

"I see, I suppose you're right. With them being dead, it is logical for them to fight that much harder to regain their lives." Hakka-san replied all too easily, shooting Bekko-san a very large fake smile before leaving the office.

"Ano.. Would you still like to have your tea Bekko-san?" Yuuta asked quietly, having finally emerged from his safe haven that is the kitchen.

"Eh?" The gloomy man turned his chair and focused on the boy. "Oh yes, just place it down on the coffee table." He muttered, 'Hmm…' Standing in his usual slouched manner, he had walked over to the couch to sit down. 'Nearly half way? Michiru-chan is proving to be quite useful,' He sat down and delicately picked up his tea. 'I wonder how much exactly she is like him..'

-X-

"Damn it! How is it that the Grim Reaper is back when that failure took his core?" A clearly pissed off Chitose howled, throwing a dart at the board to help relieve some anger. Of course the object had hit the centre and given him a bulls eye.

"Ah, but he isn't a failure Chitose. He had overcome the wheel of fortune and stolen the Reapers core to live again. That was something that had not even been written in our future records." Carmella reasoned with her partner, "Isn't that right Chairman?"

"Yes, that is correct." Hakka-san agreed, grinning darkly at the yellow clad woman.

She smiled brightly at Chitose in triumph, "Now that we settled that matter, what do we do about the Reaper and Z-Loan?"

The Chairman huffed and placed a delicate hand against his pale forehead in thought, "Things have gotten very complicating… They are all in our favour as well, or so I thought. Running Z-Loan out of business is clearly not working, leaving us no choice."

"Yes Chairman?" Carmella asked, urging him to finish his thought.

A tired sigh came from the other side of the room, the man rolling his eyes at the amateurs that stood before him. "What he's leading to is that if we can't indirectly eliminate Z-Loan, then we use the direct approach instead. Meaning the next step is to eliminate them ourselves." The dirty-blonde haired boy pointed out, leaning against his scythe proudly.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of leaving things to him Chairman! That baka couldn't even defeat _two_ members of Zombie Loan! How can he possibly make a difference now?!" Chitose roared, pointing an accusing finger at him.

The Chairman merely kept his grin and waved Chitose off, "I like the way you think, Shiba."

-X-

Later that night, Bekko-san had given out orders for Yuuta to call and bring in Chika, Shito and Michiru. Not that they were in any trouble or anything. No, it was quite the opposite actually. He wanted to congratulate them on their hard work thus far and what better way to do it then taking them out for dinner for 99 yen a plate?

Chika sat cheerfully in his chair, thrilled beyond belief that they were in the lead and not A-Loan. Bouncing slightly, he could see his favourite beginner dish coming his way and had snatched it before Shito could even think of taking it, "I love eating out without having to pay the bill!"

"This still isn't really fair. Bekko-san did say that Sotetsu-san, Otsu-san, and Undertaker-san had also been working hard to pay their quota. We should all be eating out tonight." Michiru said with a bit of uncertainty. On top of all things, she still missed Zara-kun and hated that she could feel his presence in town and yet not be able to go to him and spend time with him.

"You shouldn't think about the downside of things Gopher. There's an upside and that's why we're out tonight eating good food! We did some good work today and for the past few days and are getting rewarded for it. The others will just go out with the Ferryman another night without us is all." Chika reasoned with her, albeit it was with a full mouth, but nonetheless a very calming gesture.

"Remember to take the blue plates everyone. I won't pay for the red ones." Bekko-san reminded in his usual bored tone.

Michiru had smiled warmly, admiring her friends and how wonderful they all were. Chewing on her food silently, she had glanced up at Shito and then Chika, remembering various moments shared between them. Her life would have been forever dull and bleak if she hadn't met up with them at the cemetery to help hunt down the killer nurse.

'I've grown up a lot, gotten stronger, and I'm more.. I feel like I fit in much better now that I'm at least at their level of power.. I… I—' Her train of thought had frozen mid way, the entire room suddenly freezing in time as she felt an aura spike.

Her olive green eye's had droop and gone emotionless as she concentrated on the new presence that seemed to be disrupting the energies in the air. 'Zara-kun.. He's found something.. And he's angry..'

_"Kita-san.."_

_"Oi, Gopher!"_

_"Are you alright? Kita-san..?"_

They were merely muffled voices in the background of her thoughts.

'Things are getting cold.. The air is freezing..' She continued to think, 'He needs to be calmed down.' Her vision focused on what was ahead of her. It wasn't a rotating belt, or a bunch of chefs, or any people whatsoever. She merely sat in the middle of nothing, staring ahead of her to find out where his presence was coming from.

Objects rushed by her vision, and she never blinked until she could see a flickering image of Zarame sitting on a nearly entirely frozen roof of a standard work building. Thick ice coated mostly the surrounding sections where Zarame sat, showing that the ice was clearly coming from him.

'There,' She mentally noted, the objects that had previously washed by her vision now returning as she watched the image of Zarame grow smaller in the distance. Soon she could see the inside of the restaurant again, the chefs, the food, and a waving hand in front of her eyes. The world around her had reverted back to normal and she had squeaked in alarm when she could see Chika's face nearing hers in concern.

"Kyaaaaa!" She had leaned back in shock and fallen out of her chair, landing painfully on the floor.

"Kita-san!"

She could feel her face turning crimson as the boys looked down on her in concern, others just looking to see what the commotion was about. Swallowing whatever little pride she had left, she had stood up with a bit of help from Shito-kun, half glaring at the laughing Chika as she sat back down.

Shito had also glared at his partner for his rudeness before turning his attention to the embarrassed girl, "Are you alright Kita-san? You were acting strange."

"Arigato Shito-kun, I'm fine. I just.. well, I should leave.." Michiru answered truthfully.

"Leave? Is it a zombie?" Shito asked in pure seriousness, "If there is something new out there, we should—"

"No, it isn't. I just.. Zara-kun… I think something's wrong with him." Michiru muttered uneasily, not noticing Bekko-san glancing her way.

"Cheh, I wouldn't worry about it. If anything, he can take care of himself. There isn't a power strong enough to hurt that cocky bastard." Chika brushed off once he finished laughing at her expense.

'I'm not worried about him getting hurt, more like him hurting someone else.' Michiru had wanted to say, but had hushed up and eaten her food instead.

The rest of the night had been a blur in Michiru's perspective. Nothing out of the ordinary had alerted her besides the growing power that was being emitted by her beloved Zarame-kun. It was due to her fierce concentration on his power that the remainder of the night had flown by quickly. She hadn't realized just how much she had zoned out in the boys view until it was time to return home.

Apparently, none of this had gone unnoticed by the now intrigued Ferryman that followed the group momentarily out of the restaurant. He had separated from them shortly after, muttering goodnight to them before wandering in the other direction.

Waiting near a bus stop, Bekko began to loose himself deep in his thoughts. It honestly didn't take a genius or a weak moron to have been able to feel the kind of power wave that the Reaper had let off earlier that evening. He thought that the boys would have at least felt the thunderous power strike fear into them. Yet they had acted indifferent, unlike Michiru.

That young girl had felt it several moments before he did, one who was an immortal. Even with the kind of training she received from the Reaper, her power should not be as advanced as this.. 'Yet she surpasses all laws of logic and again makes things.. Interesting..' He thought with a quirk of a smile.

'Yes this girl is very unique.. In fact, I wonder if the night Chika-kun and Shito-kun took on that additional debt to save her was really _necessary_.' He blinked up when a bus seemed to have magically appeared before him. How he dreaded taking such a filthy way of transportation.. But cars were bad for the environment, expensive, difficult to park, and he really preferred spending less money on a simple bus pass than anything.

He mentally cringed as he sat down in an empty seat, 'Well, you get what you pay for.'

-X-

Sneaking off into the night was effortless for someone as skilled as her. It's not like she's very full of herself or anything. No in fact it's the very opposite. She always doubted herself and her power until he taught her to believe and let her true power be released. From then on she had learned to easily cloak her aura while being in her superior form, and of course many other tricks.

Leaping off yet another building rooftop, she had taken flight into the air breathing in the fresh, cool element that gently pushed her tattered white cloak behind her with every bound. Though no matter how many times Michiru leapt into the air, no amount of wind would ever be able to pull back the hood of her cloak off her head.

One of the many tricks that the Reaper taught her so that her identity would always be safe and so that it created less of a hassle for the clumsy prone girl. Basically her outfit was like an extension of herself laced with her power. Though it hadn't started out as such.

Originally her clothes were merely normal clothes that eventually got tattered with the amount of training they did to the point where Zarame told her that she actually looked like a true warrior. With some added adjustments such as the boots for better comfort during battles, the white fur hood and white cloak for warmth and for protection, the leggings just for the sake of looking good and finally the bandages again for protection. She had everything on her to help improve her safety and keep her alive for as long as possible.

So, from the moment Zarame had complemented her, she didn't want to part with any of it and so was taught to lace her entire body, inside and out, with her strangely pure magic. Once she had done that, he had told her to hold back all but a small amount, which she did.

That's when the most embarrassing moment in her life happened. Since she had gone into his world with only the clothes on her back, well this was her only outfit that she wanted to have for every battle that was ahead of her. As soon as she cut off her power… Well… She wasn't very decent…

She had screeched so loudly that Zarame had ringing ears for a week. Though he had luckily had the decency to hand her his cloak and look away. That's when she had mastered transforming into her obviously superior form and into her human form. Eventually they had found her some form of clothing that would due whenever she would turn back into an almost useless human.

Back to her hood staying on her head thing.. Since everything is an extension of her being she can control certain parts. It's just the basics of manipulating power, nothing very complicating, 'Anymore. Everything was so difficult until I finally began to understand it all.' Michiru thought with a slight tint on her cheeks.

She was practically flying through the air of her beloved town, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu until she had located the exact spot her vision had led her to. Landing softly on the solid roof, she had cautiously walked over to the spot where he had been sitting several hours ago. It was as if he had left only moments ago, the ice still thick and coating a good portion of the roof.

Sighing, she had withdrawn a bandaged hand from the safety of her warm cloak to touch the ice, "He still needs time to control his temper." She whispered with a slight tug of a smile. She had placed her fingers on the cool surface, just barely touching it, and instantly every spot of ice had melted into water and evaporated. 'I'm sure if anyone would have seen this they would have been baffled at the cause.' She thought.

"And who.. Might _you_ be?" Sang a voice behind her.

She had turned her head lightly, the voice bringing back old memories. Though this posed as a bit of a bad thing considering she needed to keep her still growing power a secret, 'I'll have to distract him.'

There was a pointed pressure on her back that she assumed was his scythe. Rolling her eyes at his obvious cockiness, she had easily turned and knocked the scythe away with her left arm, using her right one to create a strong flash of light to blind him.

"Aaaahk!" He dematerialized his weapon to cover his eyes, only hearing a light chuckle before she had completely disappeared. It was several moments later when he was able to uncover his eye's and finally see, albeit there were some dots in his sight but he could deal with that for a while.

Cursing loudly, Shiba had decided that he had better head back to the others to report in. On top of that he had to be extra careful that the energy the white figure had let off didn't attract that damnable Reaper. The last thing he wanted was to try and outrun _him_ again. So with that thought in mind, he had fled the rooftop.

-X-

Michiru clutched her racing heart once she had reached the safety of her room. That adrenalin rush had felt beyond amazing. She hadn't felt this good in a long time and not to mention very proud. Her ditching skills still needed some improving but clearly they were good enough to escape the false Reaper any day!

"_What happened_?"

To escape the real Reaper though… she always had problems with that one.

"Nothing, I just went to clean up your mess on the roof. I didn't think that _he_ would be there too." Michiru answered sincerely, transforming back into her bedtime pyjamas.

Zarame's eyes glowed with fury, "He was there? That brat had actually dared to show up and you didn't take your chance to slay him?"

Michiru huffed, "No, I didn't. I.. Don't quite understand it yet.. But I feel like it isn't time yet.."

Growling, he had walked over to her and crossed his arms, "He was meant to die long ago. And the sooner his soul actually moves on the better. There is no proper time for him anymore. The ring on his neck is black. His time is up as it always has been." He argued.

"I-I know… But still… It isn't my business to send his soul to the next world. Not without Chika-kun or Shito-kun." She reasoned calmly, bringing a warm hand up to his crossed arms and detangling them. As usual, his hands were freezing and hers provided such warmth that it was comforting and soothing for the both of them.

"You know Michiru-chan," He began, much calmer than before. "I swear we were made for each other. Almost like opposites coming back together at long last."

A smile tugged at her lips as she blushed at his sweet words, "You're probably right Zara-kun." She leaned up and playfully kissed his nose, "Are you only visiting or can you stay the night? … Y-you need some rest too you know." She stuttered shyly.

Sighing he had shaken his head to decline her offer regretfully. Though he had had the courtesy to lift her up and place her down gently in bed, tucking her in, "I can't stay. I have work to do. Besides, I'm an immortal. I don't need as much rest as a human does." He knew that she could have argued against him so he had decided to kiss her goodnight to make sure she didn't try to start anything.

The feel of his velvety lips against hers sent unexplainable tingles down to the tips of her toes. She had never felt so.. so loved by someone in all her life. Reaching a hand up to caress his cheek she had returned the sweet kiss without a second thought, loving how he would always be so gentle with her. Though the kiss was cut short for fear that it would turn into more than just a goodnight kiss and more like another of their make out sessions.

"Sleep well." He whispered with a grin, "Dream of me."

She giggled at his obvious cheesiness but had nodded nonetheless, brushing locks of his auburn hair away from his eyes. He had grasped her hand and kissed her palm making her smile even more before she had cuddled comfortably into her bed and watched him leave. He had grinned one last time before disappearing in a blur of black feathers leaving the lilac haired girl to finally get some much needed sleep.

-X-

"Guidance complete," Chika announced with glee, resting his katana again his shoulder.

Shito had dematerialized his pistol and nodded to Michiru, "Where to next?" He asked the girl.

Michiru had smiled and pointed east, sensing a form of disturbance in that general area. "I think that it's a strong one, I can almost barely pick up any minor Zombies besides us." She told them with slight worry laced in her tone, "I-I know that it should be a good thing but…"

"Less zombies to kill means less money." Chika finished for her, "Plus there's the damn A-Loan wannabes that don't seem to want to quit either, even after your boyfriend gave them a scare." He smirked slightly at the memory of their faces.

Sighing, the blue haired boy had glanced away from Chika and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "You know, there is a way to truly win and free ourselves at the same time Akatsuki."

The smirk had been wiped right off the teens face as he saddened. Dematerializing his katana he had stared at his hand grimly, "I don't know if I can do it though. I can't… I can't kill him again. But I know, that it is the best thing for him and for us."

"You don't have to carry this burden by yourself Chika-kun. We're all here, and we are all capable of taking on our share of foes." Michiru comforted, smiling brightly at him to cheer the poor boy up. "I promise you, that he won't suffer when I send him to the next world. I will put his soul at peace Chika-kun."

He recalled them comforting him yesterday and now today again. His friends were truly ones that he could never replace, even Shit-Shito. Just looking at them now as they all stood once again in some dark alleyway, he could see them standing there towards the end, where the light shined brightest. That's where he belonged, and as always they were waiting.

"We better get a move on baka before the A-Loan members decide to go for our money." Shito growled, glaring at Chika in annoyance for lagging in the dark alley.

"Cheh! Don't tell me what ta do ya damn jerk!" Chika fumed, trudging to them and passing Shito with a glare of his own, not forgetting to exchange hands with the red-eyed pain.

Instantly the two got into a competition to see who would be the leader while Michiru laughed sheepishly to herself while staying behind them and timidly telling them which way to go.

Eventually the group had decided to take a bus since the direction Michiru was leading them to was clearly near or beyond the outskirts of town. The bus could only take them so far until they had reached the very end of the city.

"Looks like whatever is out there is really far. We're going to need to call someone to take us." Chika reasoned, digging in his pocket for his phone.

Michiru's stomach had growled loudly, causing her to blush a bit. "A..Ano.. It's nothing, I'm just a bit hungry.."

_"What do you mean you're at an all you can eat buffet?!"_

Shito had twitched one of his eye's slightly, glaring at the loud white haired idiot behind him before turning back to Michiru, "I don't think that will be an issue Kita-san."

"_Just take it and go!"_

She had nodded in agreement, focusing her attention on the land that was beyond the city. It was well into the afternoon and it didn't surprise her that their great saviour was eating at a buffet. And as much as she wanted to perform her little trick and magically turn into some really strong reaper-ish thing, she knew she shouldn't.

The less she did it the better, and it meant that they kept the advantage no matter what.

'Strange…' Her eyes dulled as she focused ahead into the green land, 'There's a very strange aura far ahead. Most definitely not normal by even zombie standards.' She thought in alarm.

_"Get your ass down here Sotetsu or I'll—"_

The sounds of a very familiar motor vehicle approaching had cut off the slightly rampaging, foaming-at-the-mouth, angry Chika from shouting out some very bad language.

_"Yo! Call for a taxi!!!!!"_

"Yo! Call for a taxi!!!!!" Shouted a very proud Sotetsu, his voice echoing through the phone and down the road due to his loudness.

The group could clearly see him approaching and they had all taken a few steps back nervously when they spotted him on his cell phone with one hand, and the other waving at them casually as he continued to speed down the road to get to them. Even Michiru, someone that was trained not to fear anything (though that never went well with her to begin with..) was scared out of her wits.

Her glasses had drooped down the bridge of her nose as she let out a blood curdling scream of pure terror when the motorcycle was just a few feet away from them. Funny thing was, she wasn't the only one screaming but the boys as well. All except Sotetsu that had happily put on the breaks and stopped only a couple of inches before their faces, while still sporting the same old crazy smile of his.

He waited a minute, staring at them…

Still staring at them…

Still staring…

"The hell are you guys just standing around for?!"

She had grasped her racing heart and jumped a little at his voice, but had calmed herself in the end. "W-we thought that you were at-at a buffet—"

"Ha! Fooled ya good, right?! Nah, I was just on my way over here anyways since Bekko-san said something about a weird zombie outside of town." Sotetsu chuckled, revving the engine of his motorcycle a bit, "Anyways, I don't know how we're gunna do this… But you should be up front with me, and I guess Chika and Shito will have to share the back seat." He scratched his head in thought and nodded to himself, "Yup. Only way to do things."

"You…" Chika growled darkly, "You tricked me!! And now you want me to sit in the back with this pompous ass?!" He gestured to Shito, "No way! Why can't you buy a freakin car like a normal person!!"

"And give up my baby?!" Sotetsu gasped in horror, patting his motorcycle gently, "Never."

Shito had glared at his partner, not amused whatsoever by this turn of event. "There must be some other way." He told the red head, but only received a giant you're-shit-outta-luck grin.

"Nope."

Michiru had sighed and given in. Pushing up her glasses, she had proudly marched next to Sotetsu and motioned for him to make a little room for her to squeeze in. She sat perfectly comfortable, though just ever so slightly squished, in front of the strong male. She had received incredulous looks from her partners and in return she had shrugged her shoulders, "It won't be a long ride."

The next one to climb on was Shito, though he had a bit of a hard time actually getting his butt on the seat since there really wasn't any space for a third person, let alone a fourth. He had managed to sit just on the edge, not liking how close and personal he was being with Sotetsu, but he ignored it. "It's doubtful that we can do this.."

Chika knew that he could fit on there just as he did when they left on the rescue mission for Shito-kun. He had approached the motorcycle hesitantly and swallowed hard since this would be the most embarrassing thing that he has ever done in his life. So, sucking in a good amount of air he had proudly hopped onto the bike, positioning himself right behind Shito and holding onto his shoulders as he half stood on the back of the bike.

"Let's go! We've got some money to make!" Chika howled in excitement.

"Alright! Everybody hold on tight." Sotetsu revved his engine and they had sped off down the road.

Eventually they had gotten so far into the country, and in the direction that Michiru kept steering them in, that there was no road left to take but just some sketchy paths leading into a very creepy looking forest. Even the bold Sotetsu didn't want to go down them with his precious bike for fear of getting the paint chipped. So of course he had flat out refused to continue journeying with his 'baby'.

Michiru had assured him that it wasn't too far ahead now, that they were very close to the location. However Sotetsu wouldn't have it, instead he suggested that he stay behind (guarding his baby) while they went ahead to scout out the place. If they figured they could take on the thing, then by all means go for the kill. But if they couldn't, they were to immediately return and they would either book it out of there or he would abandon his bike (yes, tearfully abandon it) and go help them fight.

"Does he really think we're gunna need his help?" Chika asked a bit annoyed, "We're pretty strong! 'Snot like we can't take care of a single stupid zombie." He growled as they trudged ahead.

"Perhaps he thinks that there are going to be several." Shito suggested quietly.

"Whatever the case we should be on our guard." Michiru told them sternly, "I feel something strange around here."

"It's probably the zom— Aaack!" Chika was interrupted when he had collided with something that gave off some form of electricity. Sparks flew all around him and he had immediately pulled away from whatever it was that was in his way, his white cotton shirt giving off some smoke, "Wh-wha—the hell!"

Michiru had gasped and rushed to the white haired boy's side, "A-are you alright?!"

"Ch-cheh!" Was his only reply as he grasped his shirt and breathed in deeply, "Just a bit burned."

Shito had narrowed his eyes and taken a step forward, extending his arm forward slightly and receiving a light shock of electricity on his fingertips. He observed his smoking hand and frowned, "Some form of shield."

"A barrier," Michiru corrected. "This is something only an immortal with a great amount of strength can create," She explained, looking beyond the barrier wearily.

"Something ya learned at reaper school." Chika assumed, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Crimson orbs had turned to Michiru in wonder, "Do you know how to get passed such a barrier?"

She began to chew on the inside of her cheek in nervousness, "I…" She hesitated. 'It must be where Shiba-kun is, but what if Chika-kun isn't ready yet to face him?' She thought with worry, turning her olive eye's to Chika's. "I can break through a weak barrier like this in my sleep."

"Then it's settled, let's go—"

"W-wait! I.. I don't think we should go in yet." Michiru told them, "It's best we go in when we've all eaten and replenished our strength."

"I don't see why we should wait." Chika shrugged, "Let's just get this over with."

Shito rolled his eyes, "Akatsuki, we don't know what's in there, but it's strong enough to make this barrier and there could be possibly more than one. Kita-san is right, we shouldn't rush in like this. We'll return later tonight with the others and face them then."

"Man!" Chika kicked at the dirt beneath their feet, "I hate waiting."

-X-

Later that night, Z-Loan had re-grouped at the dorms including Otsu-san, Sotetsu, Yomi, Yuuta-kun, Shimotsuki-san and Lyca, Bekko-san and finally the three main hunters Shito-kun, Chika-kun and Michiru-chan. All had been present except Undertaker-san since he had a daughter to look after and wanted no part in violence. And so they had all managed to fit into the living room and began the reparations for entering into the barrier zone.

So far, Otsu-san and Sotetsu were all for it and had agreed to go since they were born warriors. Yuuta-kun had decided to go for the sole purpose of healing the injured whenever they needed it and had been entrusted to Lyca, the Lycanthrope part man part wolf that had been found during their vacation in the mountains to the hot springs. Apparently he had been personally trained by Shimotsuki-san and would be of great service to them that night if only to protect Yuuta-kun from danger.

As for Yomi, she had regrettably declined going due to the amount of darkness that lurked beyond the barrier. She felt as if it would be too difficult to keep her body under her control while fighting a large amount of zombies. Michiru had agreed with Yomi concerning her involvement since she too suspected that something very big was being hidden in the barrier.

"There's definitely something going on. I've been keeping watch of the news on TV and there have been many reports of missing persons over the course of a week. People have been gradually disappearing," Yuuta informed sadly.

"Which leads us to believe that hey have been taken and turned into zombie soldiers." Bekko-san huffed, "How very troublesome." He pushed up his glasses and glanced over to Michiru, "You must be thinking of using your powers tonight."

She had blinked at him and nodded, "Uh h-hai! I have no choice since we'll no doubt be dealing with an immortal, Bekko-san. I-I think.. That it might partly be where.. Shiba-kun is.." She said in a bit of a whisper, looking briefly over at Chika-kun's pained face.

"As Ferryman, I also have my duties to fulfill. If it is indeed an immortal creating the barrier, it is more than probable that the stolen Akashic Records are nearby along with the traitor," Bekko-san added.

"Right then, what are we waiting for?!" Sotetsu howled in excitement, partly snapping Chika-kun out of his daze. "Let's go kick some ass!"

They had of course taken Otsu-san's car and Sotetsu's bike so that everyone was comfortable for the ride there. And this was partly done because Sotetsu hated sitting in cars and wanted nothing more than to ride his motorcycle.

When they had arrived at the trail, everyone had begun walking down the dirt road, abandoning their vehicles since it was way too thick to go through with them. They weren't very surprised to see the three A-Loan soldiers fighting to get through the barrier. It was actually more like anger that they were feeling versus surprise since Chika and Shito just plain despised A-Loan. On top of things, they looked even more like simpletons with their attempts to get through. Obviously simply kicking it wouldn't do anything to damage it, or trying to break it with weapons like swords and guns.

"The hell do you guys think you're doing!" Chika had growled, his eye's burning with intense irritation.

"Oh great, the old guys are here." Zen whined but had winked nonetheless at Michiru and shot her a grin.

Clearly Toko was also annoyed with Z-Loan's arrival since she thought her skills at tracking were much more advanced than theirs, plus there was the little issue of Zen having a 'thing' for Michiru. Basically she was just as angry as the others and hated the gods for punishing her like this.

"Having a bit of trouble passing through?" Sotetsu asked Toko, earning a slight blush of embarrassment.

"Cheh! As if you old timers could do any better! There's no way of getting through here. Not even a combination of Shuji and me can get through." Zen sneered at them, mostly getting Chika riled up more than anything.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Shito snorted. "Kita-san?"

She had smiled warmly, "Just one moment." She promised, moving ahead of the group and ushering A-Loan away from the barrier, laughing nervously when Toko shot her a glare.

Closing her eyes, a flash of light had surprised everyone as she had transformed into her reaper form with a bang, the light flowing down to the very end of her now materialized cape. Such long wispy cape flowed up into the air wildly as strong unnatural winds, due to the immense amount of raw aura pulsing from her body, swept it away. Glowing white feathers fell from her hood and pooled around her feet as she began to contain her aura and lower the winds as she opened her eyes. Her form looked beyond frightening and new to the others, including some of the Z-Loan whom had yet to witness it.

Her tattered old school uniform clearly displayed the amount of hardship she had gone through to get where she was right now, the boots she had just looked amazing to begin with and as for the rest of her outfit.. Well she just gave off a very strong I-can-kick-your-ass-in-two-seconds look.

To say that the A-Loan group was surprised would be an understatement. Especially since Shuji was reminded of the threat placed on him by the Reaper himself about touching Michiru. As she was now, it didn't even look like he could simply poke her without his fingers disintegrating!

Placing a bandaged hand on the barrier, Michiru felt the pulse of electricity fight against her. For a moment, she could hear them all take in a breath as she kept her hand in place and in seconds something had happened. A warm light was being emitted from her hand and the barrier had shown itself as semi-transparent. Slowly, large cracks were forming in the barrier beginning from her hand and moving outwards. Finally the whole barrier that seemed to be larger than they had even expected, had shattered into hundreds of pieces and disappeared.

"S-sugoi Gopher!" Chika congratulated, "Heh heh! Goes to show you wannabes what we're really made of." He mocked, sticking out his tongue childishly at them.

Michiru had slightly turned her head towards A-Loan, her cold eyes frightening them as she continued to stare. Her olive eye's had never flickered as she spoke to them, "I can sense more than fifty undead soldiers and several immortals beyond this point. You are taking your life in your own hands if you continue from here," Closing her eyes she had breathed out and returned to her human self in another flash of light and slight bang, patting her school uniform to remove some invisible dirt.

She had felt their eyes on her and she had turned to them and blushed, "E-eh?"

"Impressive," Otsu-san admitted.

"We should get moving," Lyca suggested.

"By all means! There aren't anymore barriers, and Zara-kun will be joining us very soon." Michiru announced, moving forward down the path. She could feel the others hesitating for a moment but only a moment. Soon Chika was right behind her, followed by Shito, and they had exchanged their hands and formed their weapons.

"Ready?" Chika asked.

"Humph, I always am Akatsuki." Shito retorted.

"Hey now," Sotetsu chuckled, walking along with them. "No fighting children."

Michiru had to hold in her giggles as they walked down the dirt path together, an ominous wind stirring the trees as they continued forward. She knew that A-Loan was following, and she didn't mind. In the end, they would need their help to get through this. 'But I can't help but worry.. There's great power just ahead, and I sense Zarame's power mixed with something else. It must be Shiba-kun, and there are three others.' She concluded, chewing her bottom lip with worry. Her eye's also darted around them, back and fourth between the different sections of forest, 'They're there, but they won't attack us.. They must be waiting..'

They had made it to a clearing and discovered an old building that seemed to practically glow with death in Michiru's perspective and most likely Toko's as well. It wasn't normal and proved that there were many within that were of the undead variety.

The building itself looked similar to the abandoned hospital where Shito-kun had been taken. It had a very dark look to it and there were some old pieces of rubble covered in moss around it showing just how old it really was. The grass was green and very long all around the clearing, but only in the clearing. Just around the structure there was nothing alive, only dry soil and remnants of what looked like blood.

"This place reeks of death," Shito said bitterly, keeping his guard up for anything suspicious.

"Ah, so you broke through did you?" Came a voice from far above them, on the roof of the ten story high building. "I'm surprised. But I guess that saves me the trouble of bringing the fight to you." He grinned, forming his scythe in his right hand.

The light provided from the moon sent a glimmer from the scythe and made the hunters tense up instantly. Though they were mildly surprised to see him, Shito had wasted no time pointing his pistol at Shiba, pulling down the safety lock, "You're a dead man."

"Funny, I was going to say the same to you." Shiba mused.

They were on full alert when the doors to the ground floor of the building had bursted open, several zombies walking out towards them while others had been hidden in the forest and surrounded them from the rear.

"Do you really think this is going to stop us Shiba!!" Chika yelled, successfully earning his ex-best friends attention. "We won't stop until you've crossed over." He promised.

Shiba had a wild look in his eyes as Chika had said this, and laughed almost maniacally. In a split second he was gone from the rooftop and next to Chika, swinging his scythe at him, "That's what I'm counting on Chika-chaaan. Fighting you.. is fun." He laughed again feeling resistance from Chika's katana.

That was the cue that had set off the small army of undead towards them. Though the A-Loan group had a difficult time understanding why Michiru wouldn't change already and fight along side them, they decided not to dwell on things and had formed their weapons and began fighting.

Shito had fired a round from his pistol at Shiba, just barely missing him. The false reaper had leapt back in time and smiled darkly, "Two on one isn't fair."

Chika had glared at Shito, "Don't interfere, Shiba-kun is mine!"

Michiru had winced at the tone Chika was using and looked away with grieving eyes. Turning her gaze up she had noticed a yellow clad boy staring down at them from the fifth floor, holding a dart in his hands. 'Who is that..? I can sense that he's immortal..' She thought. Though she was standing in the centre of a battleground, she could see that the ones around her seemed to be doing fine in their fight, taking down one zombie after another.

It wasn't until she had heard Chika's howl of pain that she had snapped out of her minor daze and turned to him. Her eye's had widened when she saw Shito on the ground, his legs frozen with a thick layer of ice, preventing him from moving. Chika was not too far away, holding his katana weakly as his right arm bled and dripped on the ground.

"Yuuta—!" Michiru half called, but gasped when she noticed that Yuuta-kun was just as busy as the others trying to avoid being torn apart by zombies. Even with Lyca's protection and strange power to morph into a wolf, they were still having a hard time.

"I'm not weak, Chika-chaaaan. I've grown sooo much stronger. Or maybe, you got weaker? Well, who knows?" Shiba shrugged. "Just take a look around you, soon you'll be dead with all your friends, I'll kill every. Single. One. Including your very weak Michiru-chaaan and her useless reaper eyes." He purred, admiring his reflection in his scythe.

Shuji had his machine gun out and was already shooting away at the zombies on his end, Zen guiding them to the next world while Toko merely pointed out the ones that were hiding and trying to take them by surprise.

"That isn't true. We're different, we're better than you. You could have come with us! Why didn't you? You were my best friend Shiba!" Chika wanted to know, grasping his right arm tightly to stop the bleeding.

Several zombies had noticed Shito's little predicament and had decided to try and take him on, however he wouldn't have it and began firing rounds at them. It wasn't until one had come from behind and held his arm back that he was really in trouble.

"Hn? No reason really, I just didn't want to." He smirked and swung his scythe back, "And look what happened! I got these amazing powers… With these.. I can do anything!" He laughed, holding out his hand and forming sharp ice crystals floating in midair.

Turning to look one last time at the fifth floor, Michiru had shot them a glare and dared them to watch her. Just watch… She urged, now seeing that the yellow clad boy was indeed staring at her, merely standing in the centre of the battlefield. At least, she _was_ before a flash of light had appeared, and she was gone.

-X-

"Chairman, we're in trouble." Chitose said in alarm, backing away from the window slowly.

-X-

She had let her white hot power pulse through her veins and change her appearance in merely seconds. She hadn't even given it a second thought before she had leapt over to Shito's aid, her long tattered cloak flowing behind her as her hood had kept snugly in place as she flew in midair at an incredible and almost _demonic_ speed towards Shito. The white cloaked girl had grabbed the dark zombie by the scruff of his torn shirt, while still in mid air, and tossed him like a measly rag doll back into the forest where he had come from.

She had landed softly on her toes next to Shito, turning quickly to examine him. She had heard him mutter her name in shock as she place her hand on the ice and almost instantly turned it into vapour.

-X-

"Where is that aura coming from?" Carmella asked, feeling the hairs on her arm stand up.

Approaching the window, Hakka-san had looked down. He noted that his team was working fairly efficiently, Z-Loan was also there somehow and… 'Who is that?' He narrowed his eyes at the white figure below glowing. Noting that her power held familiarity his eye's had widened and he had taken a step back, "It can't be.. It's impossible."

-X-

"Wh-wha—?" Chika gasped, readying his katana.

"Like I was saying, absorbing this core was the best thing that could have ever happened to me," Shiba told him, throwing the large crystals at Chika.

The teenagers had barely been able to knock away the first round, it wasn't until the second round that he got worried and feared of truly being torn apart limb from limb. Dozens of crystals were formed around Shiba, and he stood with one hand in the pocket of his beige trench coat as if this little trick was nothing!

"Farewell, Chika-chaaan." Shiba sang, cueing the crystals to fly his way, all flying to the one target, Chika.

"Sh-shit.." Chika cussed, gripping his katana tightly. Though he was afraid, he refused to let Shiba win and most certainly refused to show him fear.

However the crystals had never struck Chika, they didn't even have a chance to touch him. A large flame, seemingly to have come out of nowhere, had engulfed all of them and turned them to vapour in an instant, shocking both Shiba and Chika-kun. Though, Chika had recovered from his state of shock when he noticed that somehow in that split second that he thought he was going to really die, Michiru had appeared in front of him.

Standing tall, she kept her hood firmly in place and her cloak covering her entire form to keep Shiba guessing who she was. Though she was taught not to play with her targets, she couldn't help it. Shiba had caused her friend so much pain, had hurt Zarame, and intended to continue his dark ways. A little revenge was in order…

"You.." Shiba muttered in pure shock, his eyes widening as the figure before him glowed with obvious intensity that it sent shivers down his spine.

-X-

"Chairman?" Carmella asked with uncertainty, standing from her position on the couch.

"We're leaving." Hakka-san announced, fully stepping away from the window to hide and gather their things.

-X-

"Hai." She answered firmly, tilting her head up to meet Shiba's slightly frightened gaze with her stern olive eyes, "Me."

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**A/N I hope that this chapter is really good guys! I wrote a little bit more plus I wasn't cruel! I could have stopped right after Shiba had attacked Chika and left you guys a REALLY bad cliffy, but I didn't!!!!! So be nice to me, eh? Even though I took forever to make this..**

**Yeah, I gotta say, the Zombie-Loan soundtrack is really inspiring, so I hope you guys have it cause I love it! It definitely helps get ya in the groove of things. And uh.. Besides that.. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Obviously there's gunna be another one! So stay tuned! Review!!**


	5. Reaper's Determination

**Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! You know, I went to Anime North this year, and I hoped to see some form of Zombie-Loan cosplay.. But no luck.. But at least I got to see a movie version of Van Fanel from Escaflowne and hug him!!! Best moment of my entire life and I was stuck in la la land for a good few days thinkin' about him. Ha ha, too bad my friend lost his camera.. It had the Van pic on it.. made me sad.. So if your reading this mister Van dude from Anime North 09, then I want you to know that you better go back next year for the convention cuz I'll do more than just hug you –winkwink- Lols, wow, this is a big note.. Well I hope you enjoy the chapter!!**

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**Death Offer**

**Recap:**

"_You.." Shiba muttered in pure shock, his eyes widening as the figure before him glowed with obvious intensity that it sent shivers down his spine. _

_-X-_

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"Chairman?" Carmella asked with uncertainty, standing from her position on the couch._

_"We're leaving." Hakka-san announced, fully stepping away from the window to hide and gather their things._

_-X-_

_"Hai." She answered firmly, tilting her head up to meet Shiba's slightly frightened gaze with her stern olive eyes, "Me."_

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Chapter 5. Reaper's Determination**

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"Cheh," Shiba shrugged off, recovering slowly from the sudden appearance of this figure. He leaned back and materialized his scythe once again, choosing to lean against it arrogantly, "So you're back again.. Are you? No flashing lights I hope this time.." He purred.

She frowned at his cockiness and turned her attention back to Chika momentarily, "Please, stay back." She had ordered in a stern voice to the white haired boy, preparing herself for any kind of attack that might arise from the old enemy.

Stumbling back, Chika had swallowed loudly and nodded his head. Though he was still uncertain whether or not he should leave her there with Shiba-kun, he had decided that she knew what was best. So he had continued to back away until he felt he was at a safe enough distance between the mini war of zombies surrounding them in the field.

Shiba-kun sighed and stared boredly at the two, "Oh? Are you honestly thinking of taking their side? You seem strong, you should be here joining us rather than fighting a loosing battle." He tried convincing the strange white figure smoothly, twitching his left hand almost unnoticeably by them.

There was a strange maniac glint in his eyes and she knew that whatever he was thinking was definitely not good, "Becoming a lowlife such as you hardly seems appealing to me." She hissed in an almost different tone of voice. Her olive eye's had darted back towards his left hand and she narrowed them in suspicion, preparing herself.

He had almost looked sad at her answer, and yet he had shrugged off such an emotion quite easily and instead had just as easily replied back, "Well how unfortunate.. That I have to kill someone so fun.." His eyes gave off a brief flash, summoning once again dozens of ice crystals floating in midair next to his body. "Now die, whoever you might be," He muttered, letting his crystals fly to his target.

'This trick won't work again against me…' Michiru thought, practically insulted that he would think these could kill her.

"Behind you!" She could hear Chika shout from the distance, listening closely as he tried to run back to her to warn her again.

She felt even more insulted when one of her closest friends thought that she couldn't handle something as simple as this. Looking up, she also noted an attack coming from above, the blades also being ice crystals. Narrowing her eyes in annoyance at the full out surrounding attack, she had lifted a single bandaged hand from the protection of her warm cloak. In one swift move, there was a flash of light and a finger snapping echo.

The sharp crystals that were homing in on her in every direction possible, only a few inches away from her, had burned into vapour instantly. What looked like a tornado of pure, burning hot fire seemed to have come out of nowhere and had melted them away in that instant, successfully shocking Shiba once again. Especially when the tornado had disappeared just as it came, in a flash, revealing again the white figure that stood still unfazed from unleashing this counter attack.

Chika had ceased trying to warn her as soon as he saw that she remained calm in the situation. And he was glad that he had stayed back enough to not be touched by the flame that she had released. Placing his good hand on his chest where his heart would be beating, he had sighed in relief.

"Oi! Akatsuki!" Growled a clearly pissed off Shito-kun, "Don't just stand there you baka porcupine!" He insulted, aiming his pistol at yet another undead human and firing a round.

Glancing back at his blue haired partner, Chika had decided it best to help out with the others. Clutching his bleeding right arm with his left hand, he tried to will himself to stop the bleeding by putting pressure on the wound. He had momentarily done so then had used whatever amount of strength he had left to summon his katana in hopes of kicking some zombie tail with his partner.

Just as Shito had fired another round at the zombie before him, Chika had come out of nowhere and sliced the thing in half, adding fuel to Shito's anger at his unnecessary appearance in slaying the rest of the zombie. One of his crimson orbs had even twitched once Chika took it upon himself to guide that soul to the next world instead of him, successfully stealing his kill from right under hi nose. "Akatsuki…" He muttered darkly, shooting dagger glares at his soon to be really dead partner.

Slinging his blade carelessly over his shoulder, his arm still bleeding a fair amount, he had given Shito one of his haha-I-beat-you-to-it grins, about to take off after yet another human of the undead variety. That is, until he noticed someone on the fifth floor of the building, wearing the most horrendous yellow outfit he had ever laid eyes on. "Oi, shit-Shito, I think I just found our immortal problem." He told him, motioning to the yellow clad woman observing the battle from the window.

Nodding to his partner, Shito and Chika had taken off in a full out sprint to the door of the building.

-X-

The evening seemed to reek of death and gore as the Z-Loan and A-Loan teamed up together to take down as many zombies as they could. Though the weapons of A-Loan were more efficient, the guidance procedure was still the same and took time. Without guiding them to the next world, they discovered that no matter how disfigured the body was, it would still move and fight against them.

Toko was useless when it came to the idea of guiding a spirit to the next realm, the lycanthrope clearly could not do it, nor was Yuuta in any way going to guide a soul. The only ones that could, were unfortunately of the male species and had a bit of a hard time multitasking and keeping up with everything.

"Shit," Sotetsu panted, hauling an enemy off his axe with a thrust. Watching the limping man stagger back, the red head had spun himself around to give his weapon momentum before swinging it at the surprised zombie, slicing his torso diagonally. He grinned at the fallen man, feeling his weapon glow gold as he guided the soul to the next world. Rather, he _was_ guiding the soul until another undead being approached him from behind.

Letting out a string of curses, he had stopped midway through the guidance to defend himself against a woman with two rows of very sharp teeth. "Oi! Otsu-san, I thought you were keepin' them busy!" Sotetsu yelled, slicing the woman's right arm off like it was butter.

Otsu's fists glowed blue with power as he struck two different zombies at the same time, pushing them away. Grunting he had a moment to turn and eye Sotetsu before striking another enemy from the back, "I can't handle all of them while you guide them!"

The red head had taken his chance to observe the others, the A-Loan group also beginning to slow down due to exhaustion. They had also teamed up with Yuuta and Lyca so that they could guard both Yoko and Yuuta from the zombies, yet that wasn't enough. He had thought that Michiru had said just over fifty zombies were here, but it felt like more.

Shifting his sight back to said girl, he saw the area that he assumed she was in filled with a thick layer of fog that formed almost a dome-like shape around the grounds where Shito and Chika once were. Though he figured that the two idiot boys were long gone, and that it was solely Michiru in there fighting Shiba. 'Those guy's better be doing something productive..' He mentally growled, sending the woman to the other realm quickly. He had cursed once again when the man he had slain had begun to move again and attempt to attack him, followed by three others behind him.

"Kami help us," He muttered.

-X-

They had quietly climbed the steps together, their weapons ready at their sides. They had expected some form of resistance, but had found none until they reached the fifth floor. Of course they expected to see several rooms, but this was just beyond strange. It was like they had stepped into another dimension of weirdness. And by weirdness, they meant above and beyond being strange.

The entire fifth floor was like a building of its own, a maze if you will. Staircases coming out of nowhere while several halls split off from each other and led to different rooms. Heck, there were even paths running up vertically until they reached another set of stairs that were upside down and led to an inverted door.

"I suppose this is the resistance we were looking out for," Shito murmured, pulling the safety latch of his weapon back.

Twisting his body around, golden eyes had loomed over the area, "Cheh, it's gotta be a damn illusion or somethin' done by one of those bastard immortals." He fumed, yelling out, "That's cheating you know!!"

Shaking his head, Shito had decided to take the first hall on his left, keeping his guard up at all times as he scouted out the place.

"The hell Shito, what makes you think that's the right way?" Chika sneered, leaning his katana on his shoulder as he followed with his other hand stuffed in his pocket. His arm was still bleeding, but not really as badly as it was originally. He figured he could continue on without any problems as long as he didn't worsen it.

"I'm assuming that this is the side of the building they're on." He replied sourly, not approving of how laid back Akatsuki was being, "Don't be a baka, make sure you're ready for any opponent."

Shaking his head, the golden eyed teenager had stuck out his tongue childishly at Shito once he had his back turned. 'If someone comes, I'll be ready.' He thought in annoyance.

-X-

"Feels like someone's finally walked in on us," Chitose frowned, turning to the door of their room. "We should leave."

Hakka-san had ignored Chitose and turned to Carmella, handing her a black suitcase. "You will be in charge of these records. Make sure they don't get their hands on it." He ordered, earning a nod from her. Turning back to the smaller boy he had grinned, "I think you should go greet our guests, Chitose-channn." He purred, delighted that the boy had agreed without any second thoughts.

"If it's what the committee wants, then I'll do it," Chitose pulled out a dart from his pocket and twirled it in his right hand. He had gone for the door and twisted it open, leaving the small group in silence.

Carmella had stared down at her suitcase and glanced up at Hakka-san, "Chairman?" She questioned, "Shall we take our leave?"

Staring out the window one last time, the silver haired man had nodded his head. Glaring his sky blue eye's at the white figure below with pure hatred before withdrawing from the window. He had walked to the centre of the room and created a small portal with the palm of his hand, ushering Carmella through it first, "Protect those records, Carmella."

"Hai," She nodded, leaping into the portal quickly.

He had closed the entranceway easily and had opened a new one just as easily. He had briefly felt the building he stood in shake, and figured that Shiba most likely had something to do with it. With that good thought in mind, he had smirked darkly and walked through his blue portal, just barely getting away on time from a newer visitor that floated outside of the window.

-X-

Returning her arm into her cloak, she had kept her gaze solid on Shiba, her eye's never flickering, never blinking, and never loosing their stony look. White feather pooled around her as they fell from the mix of fur around her hood and shoulders, making her look demonic and angelic at the same time.

"If that's all the tricks you have, then you might as well give up." She spoke smoothly to the blond boy.

He frowned and clutched his scythe tightly, "Big talk for such a small boy," He chose to sneer, his eyes glowing briefly.

She figured he was fairly strong, but not like this. One moment, the air is clear and the next, filled with thick layers of fog that had come out of nowhere. As it turns out, he did have a few more moves up his sleeve, 'Including the fog technique Zarame-kun uses.' She thought bitterly, moving her olive orbs back and forth cautiously. Suddenly, there was a scythe being swung at her right side, and she had just barely leaped away.

Feeling like the danger had yet to be over, she had again dodge an attack from behind her in mid air, bouncing away from the sharp object smoothly. She had practically burst with a glowing smile when she heard a string of curses escape Shiba's lips, dodging an attack once more with a flip when she had landed on the soft earth. Her boots dug themselves into the ground as she readied herself, feeling him approaching again on her right hand side. Deciding that this was leading to nothing she had moved away so quickly that her form had been nothing but a blur as she moved.

"I'm not letting you get away that easily," Shiba chuckled loudly, removing his weapon from the damp soil. He darted his gaze around the fog and swung back his scythe, about to leap out after her.

However instead of simply trying to follow her, he was forced to move in another direction due to a large fireball the size of Chicago being shot at him from above. When he had landed back on the ground he had barely any time again to get away as another fireball proceeded to be shot had him, and again after that. 'Damn it!' He mentally howled, feeling the heat from the fire that just skimmed his side. With his fog in place, it felt as if flames surrounded him since they reflected in the mist, creating red-orange tints.

Panting momentarily, he had wiped the sweat from his forehead roughly in thought, whoever this person was he was very strong... And entertaining. He lowered his scythe to his left hand, brushing his fingers over it, creating a layer of ice along the blade. "Where are you my little friend…?" He taunted out loud, almost laughing when he dodged a new wave of fireballs, burning out the last one with a thick ice shield that he had materialized with this left hand.

She had appeared out of nowhere with a weapon he had never seen before, almost like a smaller version of his scythe. Luckily he had blocked it with his own sharp weapon, laughing as her blade glowed with a heat that fought against the constant layers of ice he would summon to cover his scythe protectively.

Pushing back against him, she had grinded her teeth in frustration as she landed several feet away. He definitely knew a lot more about Zarame's powers than she gave him credit for. She was also growing tired of this constant fog and had willed some of her inner shield away, to let her aura escape. With this done, she had created and could now control the winds on the ground much more efficiently, creating a tornado blast of wind to eliminate the thick fog.

"Oh?" He tilted his head to the side, observing the attack while his trench coat whipped behind him in protest, "This breeze feels nice." He mocked, but was nonetheless angry that his cover was gone.

She had bit her lip to keep from shouting at the cocky bastard, "This ends." She bit out, launching her body at him, her wispy cloak flowing behind her as she raised her weapon in her right hand, bringing it down on his as soon as she was close enough.

Of course she had expected him to block with his ice coated scythe, but she honestly didn't expect him to actually force her to use her second mini scythe. He had surprised her when he had formed an ice crystal blade in his left hand to try and stab her with by surprise, which didn't work out too well for him. Her second scythe had materialized in her left hand and had blocked the crystal from touching her.

"Well, isn't that a surprise.. But I've got another!" He laughed maniacally.

She had furrowed her brows in confusion for a moment, not understanding what he was talking about until she had felt a burning pain sensation on her right lower backside. She gasped as the blade dug even deeper into her, and had leapt back from him urgently. Michiru had forced her right blade to disappear in a glow to remove the knife that had dug itself deep into her back.

"Ahahaha heh heh," He laughed loudly, his eye's holding nothing but lust at the sight of her blood. "And here I thought I'd never have to use it again! Not while I have this new power!" He continued to laugh.

She had winced in pain and swallowed in a breath of air, gripping the handle of the blade and forcibly trying to remove it.

"Forget it, you can't take it out, boy. I'm the only one that can control my hunting knife." Shiba drawled, grinning like a mad man when he caught site of her blood drenched cloak blowing behind her.

She had ignored his words and had continued to try and remove the damn hunting blade from her back, refusing to let him see her pain as she did so. Though with all her concentration being put on this, she had failed to notice him appear before her in a split second, and within those few seconds, he had quickly ripped her hood away from her face.

Grunting, she had leaped back from him again and shot glares with her emotionless eyes as her cloak shortened into smaller wisps that just barely hugged her backside. Though a couple of good things did come out of this. One was the priceless look on Shiba's face once he realized that the so-called weak shinigami eyed girl was kicking him around. The second was due to this shock, his mental grip had lessened on his blade, and she had been able to pull it out of her back in one slick move. The hunting blade looked just as she remembered it, only now it was dripping with her blood.

"Mi.. Michiru-chan?" He asked uncertain, "Heh… so it is you..." He frowned when he saw her pull out the blade. "How did you get to be so strong..." He then growled.

Staring at his hunting blade she had grimaced and forced her power onto it, first heating the blade until her blood simmered off, then she had turned his old knife to ash. Glancing back at him, she ignored the throbbing pain in her back, "Certainly not by stealing any cores." She hissed out.

"Ah, you're never going to let that go, are you?" He smiled, amused by the girls façade to keep her emotions under control.

"Not until you move on, I won't." She replied, lifting her right bandaged arm, her fingertips glowing.

He tightened his grip on both his weapons, readying himself for the next wave that she would send him. Though he had just barely realized that whatever attack she was doing was definitely not coming from in front of him, but beneath him. The ground felt very hot beneath his boots and he had scarcely moved away when the ground gave out and a fountain of flames came shooting out. Grunting, he had made a move towards her, bringing down both of his weapons on her with a force so strong, that it had pushed her as far back as into the building that part of the ARRC members resided in.

The building had shook, and Michiru was stuck in a bit of a crater, cracks forming up the building's outer wall from her spot. Of course the wound in her back didn't help any and hurt that much more, but she still didn't give up holding her two blades she had managed to summon to block his attack. 'Th-this isn't good,' She thought with a bit of a whimper, feeling hot liquid pool in her mouth and escape either sides of her lips. She despised the taste of the coppery liquid that escaped her mouth, the flavour of it bringing back memories of her near death experience.

Shiba had chuckled darkly, pushing against her that much harder, "And here you were saying I was weak? Look at you Michiru-channn, you're broken and bleeding in front of—Aaaaack!"

The weight of his blades was suddenly lifted off of the lilac haired girl, and she watched as he was throne back into the battlefield as if he were nothing. Instead, the figure that replaced Shiba's looming stance was none other than a royally pissed off Zarame-sama. Obviously he wasn't angry with her, very much, but was most definitely furious with what Shiba had done to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his back turned to her so that he could keep an eye on Shiba.

She had smiled weakly at him and spat out the atrocious liquid from her mouth, feeling a hundred times better now, "I-I'm fine. I can handle Shiba, Zara-kun. Onegai, help the others." She pleaded, while removing her body from the crater carefully, dusting off any remnants of stone from her body.

"No, let me handle him—"

"Onegai." Michiru interrupted, "I can handle him, ju-just please.. Help the others capture the immortals—"

"He's already gone, along with another one. Your friends are taking care of the younger immortal. I am more needed with you—"

Shaking her head she had dematerialized her blades and tugged on his arm, "Please trust me, please.." She whispered.

He had sent a glare to the unmoving Shiba that laid few yards away, then turned his amethyst eyes onto hers, admiring the courage and determination he saw burning within them. After carefully thinking things through, he had stubbornly nodded to her, "You better stop playing around then.. Your body is starting to get beaten up a bit." He spoke gently, "I'll help the others on the battlefield since they can hardly take care of a small army of zombies." He had brought a bandaged finger up to her face and wiped away the blood from either side of her chin, "Be careful."

"H-Hai! Arigato Zarame-kun," She thanked, watching him disappear in a pool of feathers, only to reappear further away helping the others slay the zombies. She knew that he was right, that she was still wasting her time practically playing with him. But truth be told, she really didn't want to have to use so much power to kill him. She'd end up butchering his body in such an inhumane way, and she didn't want to do that. 'However I need to use any form of resource to stop him, no matter what. He doesn't belong here anymore.' She thought sadly, forming her blades yet again in her hands.

-X-

Tumbling back awkwardly, Chika had grumbled hotly before trying to get back on his feet. He coughed a bit due to the dust and debris that lurked in the air, yelping when he spotted yet another of the annoying immortals darts come flying at him. Chika had ducked back his head and groaned once the dart had punctured the ground and exploded, now sending his body forward.

He landed painfully on his face, now really pissed that this two inch tall, annoying yellow brat was pushing him around. Glaring up from the ground, he mentally swore that the kid would pay, using his Katana to weakly help lift himself up. He wiped the blood that dripped down his cheek from a small wound and grinned, "Is that really all ya got, shrimp? A few exploding darts?" Chika mocked, "And you call yourself an immortal."

Chitose was clearly beginning to boil with anger, forming several new darts, "Shut up you filth! You're nothing but a low level zombie that can't accept that he will never live ever again." He sneered back, launching his darts at the Z-Loan member.

Chika had readied his Katana to strike them away until they started to get a bit.. bigger? Yelping again, he had dodged the increasingly large darts like his life depended on it, because really, it did. Though it's not like he actually was able to do so without getting scathed. He had received several new gashes along his body, but luckily all of his limbs were still attached to his body.

Shito wasn't much help either since each round he shot at the boy would either miss or he would get hit and then heal himself. On top of all things, the damn kid just wouldn't stop laughing at their attempts and taunted them even more when he would jump back and forth from different staircases, entering one room but leaving through a different one. He was playing games with them and honestly did fire up Chika and infuriate Shito to no end.

"Akatsuki, do you recall how the Shinigami spoke about cores?" Shito questioned as he dove for cover from the dozens of exploding darts that were thrown at them.

"Yeah, what about it?" Chika grunted impatiently, beads of sweat rolling down the sides of his face in nervousness.

"What if I could destroy it? His core must be located somewhere in his chest." Shito suggested, readying his pistol to attack again.

Sighing in exasperation, Chika had gripped his sword and turned back to Shito, "Lemme guess, you want me to be the damn distraction in your stupid plan so you can shoot him." He only received a stony look from his partner before he turned away, "I hate you.."

"The feeling's mutual, baka porcupine." He replied coolly.

Brushing off the insult, Chika had shifted himself so that he could make a break for it and distract the kid. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes when he heard the brat laugh again and call them cowards for hiding. Really? He had some balls for messing with them, 'He's lucky he's never attended our school. I would have pranked the living shit outta him..' He thought smugly, deciding now was the best time to move out of the hiding place and into the field of war.

There were so many darts, that he thought he would die in about two seconds if he stayed put in one spot too long. So of course he kept moving and slashing with his sword to snap the damn things in half…

…Not such a smart idea considering they were explosive and all…

He had gone flying back down the stretched hallway in a bloody heap, coughing up a bit of blood and spitting it to the side. There was still a fair amount of smoke in the air that he could use as cover to get away, but apparently Chitose already knew that and had sent a fresh batch of explosive darts his way through the smoke. He had just barely rolled away from the pointy things until they had gone off with a bang once they struck the hallway.

He felt his body be jerk into one of the many staircases in the warped world, coughing up more blood and feeling a weird sensation in his chest, 'I think one of my ribs are broken or somethin..' He thought as he looked up the staircase, 'That's weird, this stupid thing is set against the wall.. As if you could actually climb these!' He thought, spitting out more blood to the side. He figured more darts were on the way and thought, what the heck! He wasn't immortal, but this place really was effed up in many ways.

Chika had placed a foot on the vertical staircase, and to his amazement he was climbing up the stairs without a problem. To him the room still looked the same, but to the rest of the world, he was walking sideways. 'There are no rules in this place, because immortals created it.' He thought with a grin before running up the stairs to reach a different set that brought him to the ceiling.

He half chuckled when the darts kept flying where he once stood, continuously exploding and creating more smoke that he was using as cover. 'Baka!' Chika smirked in his thoughts, running down the hallway he had reached on the ceiling, leading right to where Chitose stood. Of course, there was only so much smoke before he would be spotted, but that didn't matter, the ceiling was fairly high up, and he wouldn't be seen until it was too late.

Chika could vaguely hear Shito's pistol fire rounds at Chitose. He really didn't think that the damn exploding pins would blast him as far as that! Materializing his sword, Chika had thought briefly that their roles seemed to have changed. Now he had the element of surprise while Shito was the distraction! 'Damn bastard deserves to be the distraction! I've been getting my ass blown up too much already!' The smoke was no longer a thick cloud, but thinning out as he reached the end.

"How dare you kill my partner, you bastard." He heard Shito growl at Chitose, firing another shot at the yellow clad boy.

"Heh!" Chitose smiled cruelly, "Oh please, he hardly stood a chance against my power. You can't stop me either with your pathetic gun. ARRC will defeat all of you, and you can't do a thing about it." He mused, forming all new darts, "It's too bad, I'm sure Toho will be very angry to find out his perfect monster has been destroyed…"

Chika didn't hear anything for a moment, but he had seen Shito's reaction to what Chitose had said. It must have meant something important, maybe Chitose knew something he didn't? Whatever the reason, Chika was now out of the smoke and the others hadn't even noticed yet, which was good because in about two minutes he was going to be directly above Chitose.

"You don't know anything.." Shito bit out, his eyes narrowing in anger on the red head.

"Oh?" Chitose tossed one of his darts up and down in his hands, "I know of the corpse release spell…" He said aloud, successfully capturing Chika's interest, "And that you were inside your mother for seven years.. Yes you are a monster indeed.." He chuckled, "And even worse, was when you fell in love with her! … Haha.. How disgusting!" A shot was fire, and a part of his hair had been trimmed off. "..Why you.."

"How dare you mention her, you trash." Shito snarled.

Chitose grasped his dart tightly, motioning for his floating new darts to be fired. He had sent them whirling at Shito, about to form new ones when he was caught off guard by a blur of white.

Soon a katana had sliced through Chitose's chest, the gash beginning from his right shoulder and ending down towards his left side. Slowly, Chika's face had come into view of Chitose's widened eyes, his grin making him very livid.

Withdrawing his Katana, Chika had leapt back from the still shocked Chitose, landing back down in the hall way just as Shito had fired several new rounds of ectoplasm at the immortal. Chika had proudly swung his blade over to his shoulder while he watched Chitose fall back.

"Heh heh! Oi, nice shooting Shito-ku—"

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Chika yelped as rounds were shot as him, shooting fierce glares at his partner, "The hell was that for asshole(Beep!)?!" He barked, pointing at the holes in his arms angrily.

Shito merely ignored him while he dematerialized his gun in a red glow. He then turned his scarlet eyes to him, causing Chika to pull back slightly with a chill running down his back, "I did not want to be the distraction, baka. I clearly said that it was you."

One of Chika's eye's had twitched.

The white haired boy approached Shito angrily and had grabbed a fist full of his jacket, about to give him a piece of his mind until a single dart had landed in the ground next to them, and had exploded. The two were blown back into a wall painfully, Chika being the first to spot Chitose standing once again on his staircase proudly, his wounds healing themselves in a glow of greenish light.

"You actually thought you beat me?" He sighed in exasperation, "What part of immortal don't you get—" His speech was suddenly cut off with a gasp. Chitose had glanced down weakly at the hand that had pierced his chest, unable to do anything but gasp as something got ripped out of him.

There was a puff of smoke.

And then… A Chibi?

And.. Bekko-san!

The blonde haired Ferryman stood behind the Chibi Chitose, holding some green glowing orb in his right hand. He also seemed to be wearing some strange white clothes that looked awfully a lot like a Ferryman uniform while his usually tied back hair was now flowing behind him.

"Chitose," He spoke in his usual bored tone, "Your core has been here by confiscated due to your high treason against the WFO. As punishment for your crimes, you will remain in that body until The Higher Ups believe you have been punished enough." Bekko-san announced, the core in his hand disappearing in a flash of green light, as well as the Chibi Chitose.

As soon as the Chibi was gone, the dimension had warped itself back to normal, and they were now all crammed in the smallest hallway possible in the building. Bekko-san had sent Chika and Shito a dry look, "You two did some good work, keeping him busy until I arrived. The Higher Ups will be very thankful."

"Hurray," Chika muttered sarcastically, getting up weakly with the help of the wall and his katana.

Shito also followed suit, "We should try to locate the rest of the immortals.."

Bekko shook his head sadly, "They have already disappeared. I believe you are best needed outside."

The boy's didn't argue with the Ferryman and figured he was right. So they had gone for the exit door and began to descend the staircases together while the Ferryman made some excuse that he had something more to do before leaving.

'We're on our way, Kita-san.' Shito thought.

-X-

Michiru cautiously approached the seemingly unconscious Shiba. As she learned, looks can be very deceiving, and her senses never lied to her. Shiba was definitely awake, which puzzled her since she figured he would have resisted against her much more quickly than this. So why the hesitation..?

Thick layers of ice had slowly formed around his body and inched towards her, grabbing her full attention. She hadn't worried much about the cold substance and continued to walk to the body, the ice not able to even touch her before turning into harmless vapour. She had ceased moving when she was beginning to be well aware that this wasn't him at all.

She huffed angrily at his trickery, using one of her mini scythes to destroy the fake body that was actually made of ice as well. 'That's why the ice was forming towards me, he isn't in full control of his powers yet and infused too much power into making this fake body..' She thought, briefly sensing him behind her. Though he thought that he was being all stealthy, he was actually not that great at covering his aura, and his attacking skills were rather sloppy. She was able to easily turn herself around and catch his scythe in midair with a single bandaged hand all this while grinning madly.

Despite the wound on her back, and all the damage that was caused from being shoved into a cement building, she was still very capable of fighting, and much more. Zarame was right about her powers being held back. She really didn't want to get very violent with Shiba-kun, she just wanted to set him free and guide him to the next realm. However she was left with no choice, and needed to start truly using her powers. She had placed some pressure on his scythe with her fingers, satisfied when she heard a cracking noise being emitted.

Shiba had hesitated, and tried to remove his weapon from her grip in alarm, but it wouldn't budge. A rumble of discontent had formed in his throat and he had then formed his ice crystal blade in his left hand, determined to make her let go of his scythe.

She laughed lightly at his attempts to make her let go, her dull olive eyes boring into his mockingly, especially when the blade she held had finally snapped. The full rounded blade was completely broken off of the staff that held it, and dangling in her grasp. She wasn't surprised that he had leapt back as she disintegrated the metal with her light. She was actually expecting it, and as soon as the last piece of ash had floated away in the wind, she had reformed her own weapons and dashed after him, at a speed he never knew even existed.

"You… You wench! I'll kill you for this! I'll torture your pathetic little soul Michiru-chaannn. Beginning with you little boyfriend!" Shiba snarled as he dove away, positively furious when she came right after him at a speed he thought was practically demonic compared to his. He didn't know how it was happening or where she got all this power from, but she was just too fast to keep up with. It was as if he was fighting someone completely different than the girl he had so easily pushed into the wall. He had barely formed two ice blades in his hands to defend himself with and she had already landed four deep swipes across his chest with her blades.

Worst of all, the heat that naturally coated her metallic blades melted through his crystal in seconds as she delivered four more blows to his chest, followed by a swift round house kick to the centre of his being, launching him as far back as into the forest. His body had pierced through many full grown trees like they were made of straw, his body almost slowing down until he felt a very painful kick to his back. Now he was being launched back through the new path he had cleared with his body, right back into the clearing where the battlefield was still raging on against the zombies.

His bloodied and broken body rolled and tumbled awkwardly in the dirt of the field, coming to a stop when he felt himself being lifted by the scruff of his jacket by the small girl dressed in white, "Y.. Y. ou.. 're.. a monster.. heh.. worse .. than me..!" Shiba grounded out weakly, blood spilling from his mouth as he spoke.

"No one is a bigger monster than you, and the committee trying to control fate. I won't rest until everything is right again, Shiba-kun. You were meant to move on and turn into something great, not be forced back and turned into an enemy." Michiru spoke, for once without even stuttering nervously. She now had him in her grasp, about to set him free with pride.

"I'd rather not.." Shiba gave her a lop sided smile, and then a bright light had formed behind him.

She really hadn't been expecting this, but his body had completely flown out of her grasp and into the portal of light. She was ready to follow him into wherever he has fleeing to, but had stopped when the portal had immediately closed, leaving her with a sense of humility and guilt. She had every opportunity to send his soul to the next world… She held back a great amount of her power until the very end, and now.. He was gone without a trace! She could have ended this for everyone! All the debt's paid, the competition over..

She had turned her body towards the rest of her companions, sighing in relief as Zarame-kun delivered the final soul to the next world. At least they were all safe and sound, including Yuuta-kun and the A-Loan group. She had her doubts about them, worried that they would get injured if they weren't careful.

Michiru had made her scythes disappear with a shimmer before practically materializing next to Zarame-kun. He, unlike the others, had felt her coming and had readily placed a hand around her shoulder to hug her gently, his nose digging into her soft lilac hair.

"Chiru-Chiru!" Yuuta piped, bouncing away from the protection of the exhausted Lyca to see the girl.

"Oh..? When did she get here?" Sotetsu questioned out loud, resting his axe against one of his very toned shoulders.

Michiru had hesitantly pulled away from Zarame, her arms however still resting against his chest. She had looked back a Yuuta-kun and then her eyes had flowed past him to the other soldiers that fought to bring the illegal zombies creators to justice. "Shiba-kun had escaped before I could send him off," She stated sadly, staring up at Zarame-kun's temporary angered face until he had cooled and looked back down on her gently.

"You'll get him in our next meeting, for certain," He spoke to her sincerely, kissing her forehead tenderly.

"E-eh!!!" Toko gasped loudly, pointing to the couple. "Y-you t-two… ?!" She blurted carelessly.

Zen also looked a bit hurt by this turn of event, but had brushed it off with a smirk, "Soo, that's why he was all over us when she was in danger." He said slyly, "The Grim Reaper has a girlfriend!"

"Oi! I wouldn't tease him if I were you, baka." Growled a voice little ways away from them.

Behind them, strolled a limping Chika-kun held up by an annoyed Shito-kun. Even with all the injuries Chika-kun had, he still looked enough fired up to take on an army of zombies on his own. However she wouldn't recommend he do so.

"Chika-kun, Shito-kun," Michiru whispered in her toneless voice. "Are you alright?"

"OoooOo!" Yuuta couldn't help but beam, "I smell wounds! Let me see!" He bounced over to the pair of Z-Loan hunters and sparkled with joy, "I can patch you up nice and good… For a price!"

Rolling his eyes, Chika had taken his weight off his partner and held out his body, "Just do it already Yuuta."

Zarame had taken this moment to whisper into Michiru's ear, "You're injured too. Should we call the boy over?"

Michiru had shaken her head, "I'm fine. When I let more of my power flow, the injuries started healing on their own. I-I think I'm almost alright." She replied, kissing Zarame's cheek cutely, "Thank you.. for coming to my rescue."

"I would never abandon you, Michiru-chan." Zarame spoke roughly, his deep voice causing her to shiver with delight. He rubbed circles along the bottom of her bandaged back, not caring if the others watched as he displayed his emotions for her.

"Ai-aie! YUUTA! That hurt you little shrimp!" Howled Chika off in the background.

"Well it isn't my fault you have so many bullets in you…" Yuuta-kun replied softly, happily removing the last bullet.

"...You deserved every one…" Shito had remarked sharply.

"What did you say, you jackass!" Chika barked, "You wanna go?!" He persisted, forming his katana with ease.

"I thought you'd never ask, bastard." Shito replied just as sharply, forming his pistol.

_Bang!_

Michiru had sweat dropped at their behaviour, turning back to her boyfriend in an attempt to tune them out. "M-maybe now isn't the greatest time to talk about everything that went on." She told the Shinigami.

_Bang! Bang!_

"Piss poor aim shit-Shitoooo!"

"I'll take you home," Zarame offered.

In seconds, the two were gone. Nothing but a pool of white and black feathers left in their wake.

"How annoying.." Otsu-san muttered, turning away from the group to leave.

"I'm coming too!!" Yuuta beamed, trotting away with Otsu.

"A-ano…" Toko blushed, grabbing Otsu-san's attention, "Could we hitch a ride back?"

"_No A-Loan allowed_!" Chika and surprisingly Shito had yelled in unison. The two partners sending each other glares as they walked after Otsu-san, one trying to out walk the other.

Sotetsu chuckled and shook his head, dematerializing his axe, "Well, some things never change.." He ran a hand through his reddish locks, following after the rest of the group, and most definitely staying clear from Shito and Chika.

When Z-Loan was out of their sight, the A-Loan group had sighed.

"Oi.. How are we going to get back now?" Zen complained, "My feet hurt."

"We should have just stayed back like I said," Shuji added.

"L-let's go after them!" Toko whimpered, taking off in a run after them.

-X-

Michiru paced feverously in her dorm, the temperature slowly rising in the room as her irritation grew worse. She really couldn't believe how easily he had gotten away from her. Their whole problem could have ended with her running her scythe through him and guiding his soul. It was that easy and she let him get away? How could she be so foolish?

So.. So weak?

'It's all my fault,' She blamed, a dark cloud of shame floating above her head.

If it weren't for Zarame-kun silently watching her blame herself, this room and not to mention the whole dorm building, would have burned to the ground ages ago. He was the one that kept the delicate balance of heat at a low simmering point with his own cooling aura. It troubled the Shinigami seeing his girlfriend becoming as emotional as this to the point where he needed to be the one to cool _her_ off.

What was even more surprising was the fact that she did all this quite easily without being in her transformed state. She had turned back into her regular school uniform as they entered the dorms, her wounds practically all healed up as well. She was so strong in his point of view, that he really thought that she could one day surpass even him!

Returning to the little trouble that just stood a few feet away from him… He really did have enough of watching her mope around, and he had spoken up.

"Michiru-chan, it's alright," He began, approaching her slowly from behind and delicately wrapping his arms around her stomach, "There will be another opportunity soon."

Michiru slowly nodded her head, "B-but what if it isn't soon enough? What if the month comes to an end, and we can't find him? What if.. What if Chika-kun, Shito-kun, Koyomi-san, and all of Z-Loan—"

"We _will_ find him." Zarame reassured, resting his head on one of her delicate shoulders, "You mustn't worry."

She sniffled, her eye's watering with tears, "How c-can I not? He was r-right there! Zara-kun, i-in my.. My grasp!"

Zarame sighed, removing himself from her and turning her around so that they were face to face, "Please don't cry, Michiru-chan." He asked, pulling her into a full hug, "I swear to you, that we will find him. Z-Loan will be safe, and their debt will be paid off. I swear it."

She buried her face in his neck, finding some comfort in the way his black feathers from his cloak would brush up against her face. She admired him a lot, and all the work that he would do. He was also so loving, something that would come as unexpected from a reaper. She sniffled again, and wiped her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, pulling away from her loving shinigami to look at him, "May-maybe we should confront him together next time?"

Zarame lifted one of his brows in question, staring at her with his gorgeous amethyst eyes in confusion, "Now why would a powerful goddess like you need the help of a whelp like me?" He grinned at her sexily, making her cheeks turn crimson.

"I-I'm no goddess, Zara-kun. I may not be able to do this by myself like I thought I could." She replied shakily, shivering slightly at his drop dead delicious look he was giving her. Really, her cheeks just couldn't get any warmer.

He mentally chuckled as she squirmed in his grip, literally feeling the heat that was being emitted from her body due to her immense shyness with him. She really was adorable, being so timid and getting so easily embarrassed. Unlike him, he would be bold and very blunt about everything with her. "You are goddess in my eye's, Michiru-chan. I do believe that you are quite capable of sending a foul soul such as that annoying Shiba, to the correct realm as well. Don't ever try to tell yourself otherwise." He told her, touching one of her cheeks with a bandaged finger, "You are so very beautiful, you know that Michiru-chan?"

'You've got to be the most attractive and appealing male I know,' She had wanted to say, but lacked the courage to do so. So instead she had just blushed even more, and said, "You're not so bad yourself." Which had equally surprised them both since the words seemed to have just tumbled out of her mouth without her even stammering one bit.

He had quietly laughed and kissed her forehead, "So very adorable," He murmured. He had just stood there for a moment, holding her and thinking. He had done his fair share of reaping tonight, and he _was_ somewhat tired. Maybe he could sacrifice one more night for the sake of staying by the side of his now cheering up girlfriend? 'Besides, it's not everyday that I actually come to care for someone as much as I care for her.' He thought quietly, eying her flustered form.

A slow smile had spread across his flawless fair skin, his eye's sparkling with mischief. In two seconds, his shinigami features had shimmered and disappeared, leaving him clothed in what used to be his school uniform when he was attending Michiru's school for those very few days.

"E-eh? Why did you change? Don't y-you have to leave soon?" Michiru had questioned, as soon as the black feathers had disappeared from her sight only to be replaced by a white cotton dress shirt.

Zarame shrugged, "I believe I can manage remaining one night by your side." He then lowered his voice and his head, dipping down and kissing the tip of her nose, "And by this I mean that I would truly like to sleep by your side tonight. Not in another room chosen by your friends."

She was beyond glowing with happiness at his decision, and had smothered him in a hug so fierce, that he even had a hard time breathing. "I'm so glad!" She exclaimed before pulling away from him and planting a soft kiss on his lips.

For a reaper, he sure was a softy when it came to Michiru, 'Only her.'

-X-

"Mou, it's not fair Shito-kuun." Chika complained the next day, walking down the hall with his partner, his hands wrapped behind his head, "We should have just left A-Loan out there. Then our troubles would have been over!" He pouted.

Beams of morning light shone through the dusty windows of the dorm building, illuminating the usually filthy halls quite brilliantly. It was a beautiful day, no cloud within the vicinity, which meant no rain either. A perfect warm day, now that was something that they both looked forward to enjoying.

Shito rolled his eyes at his partner, "What is done is done, Akatsuki. They were driven back in town, and that is the end of it. You should be pleased about the bonus not whining about A-Loan." He reminded his partner whom had immediately gone starry eyed at the mention of their juicy 500,000 yen bonus _each_ for the capture of one member of ARRC.

"Ahhh, I can't wait to tell the Gopher." He laughed, stopping in front of said Gophers door, about to place his hand on the knob until it had turned for him. He blinked and smirk knowing that if she came out now, they would scare the crap out of her. Instead, however, this time it was they that had the living shit scared out of. Because the moment that door opened, they were both astonished beyond words.

Both jaws were opened as they continued to stare at a sleepy eyed Zarame-sama, who was not only standing in front of them, but standing there with his hair more dishevelled than usual, no shirt on, and his feet were bare. He just stood in all his glory, wearing black school pants, next to a very flustered Michiru who wore nothing but pyjama bottoms and a small shirt with her hair also very messed.

"A-ano.. ano…. Ch-Chika-kun, Sh-Shito-kun, ohayo?" She greeted, her cheeks flaring with embarrassment.

Zarame yawned loudly, scratching his bare chest and glaring at them, "It's too early to be seeing you bakas.." He muttered, feeling a small hit on his side from his girlfriend to be nicer. Yet he did nothing but chuckled and wrap one of his well built arms around the girl's shoulder possessively, still glaring at them.

Chika was the first to snap out of his shock, and pointed at the Reaper, then Michiru, and again the Reaper, "This ain't your room you ass!" He accused.

Shito had cleared his throat and sent glares just as vicious back at the Shinigami, "I believe we assigned you your own place to sleep if you desired to stay the night here." He said, "Have you no respect for Kita-san's personal space?"

"And we're not talking about just personal space here, we're talking about you and the Gopher doi—!" Chika was stopped mid sentenced by a screeching Michiru, who was horrified at what her partners were saying. Instead she had just slammed the door shut on their faces and hid within her room with Zarame. "Wh-what the hell Gopher! Open up!" Chika howled.

She couldn't ignore the blaring voice beyond the door that belonged to the fired up Chika-kun and had visually apologized to Zarame for their behaviour. She really didn't want them to find out about Zara-kun's little sleepover, and they had both figured they could pull off not being caught.

So much for that.

"I'd hate to leave you now, Michiru-chan." Zarame purred, lowering his head to hers and gently bringing her in for a chaste kiss while trying his best to ignore the banging on the door caused by the two idiots. He had hugged the girl closer to his body while gently moving his lips over hers. He nibbled on her bottom lip sensuously before demanding entrance, their tongues coming to a meeting as one tried to overthrow the other in dominance. The lilac haired girl had put up a fair fight against him, but was no match as he now explored her mouth like it was a cave of wonders, running his tongue over every inch of her.

Michiru groaned into the kiss, enjoy the sense of dominance he momentarily had over her, digging her hands into his red locks to bring him that much closer to her form. Shivers of pure delight ran down to her toes and back up to her heated cheeks as they continued to kiss until she was breathless and forced to separate. She gave him a hungry gaze, not wanting for him to leave so early, and sighed as he continued to kiss her hotly down her pale neck. Michiru had to bite her tongue to keep from moaning in delight as she felt him nuzzle and kiss her neck fervently.

She had sighed in sadness when he had pulled away from her, gently kissing her cheek and staring at her fondly, "I don't want you to leave me." She whispered.

"I'll be around, don't worry my Goddess." He muttered huskily, caressing her face with his hand one last time as he transformed in a soft glow of light into his shinigami form. His bandaged hand lingered against her cheek for a moment longer before he disappeared in a mist of black feathers, leaving her alone to her thoughts.

She had zoned back into the real world several minutes after he left, practically jumping in fright when she heard the pounding on her door. She didn't realize it, but her hair was in much more disarray than it was earlier, and there was a very distinct mark on her neck left by her oh-so-sexy lover boy. Without her knowledge of the mark, she had gone and ripped open her door in mid-pounding, poor Chika falling half way before catching himself to glare at her and then look around for her 'hubby'.

"Damn it!" He barked, "That ass got away befo—" He blinked at the Gopher and then gaped, pointing an accusing finger at her neck, "That-that wasn't there—before… before.. Gopher!!" He shrieked loudly, causing the dorms to shake if that was even possible, "You made out with that damn Reaper and let him give you a hickey before leaving?!"

Michiru blushed, "A-ah be q-quiet Chika-kun, it's not.. I mean we did.. But I..!!" She screeched, horrified by this mark and covered the brand with her hand nervously.

Shito's eye twitched as his partner continued his outburst and half debated whether or not he should actually kill him this time with his gun, or just let him off with some bullets stuck in his arm. "Akatsuki could you refrain from yelling, I don't like hearing your obnoxious voice so loud in the morning... I get headaches…"

"You get headaches?! I'll show you headaches, you rotten piece of—!"

"Pl-please everyone! Stop yelling!" Michiru shouted out timidly, glancing between the two boys nervously, "Please tell me why you're here?"

The silvered haired boy had to think for a moment and try his best to remember why it was that he was standing in her room as fired up as he was, "Uh.. Oh! Last night the arrogant ass and I helped catch some immortal and got a bonus!" He boasted proudly.

She gasped, "Really? Does that mean we're still ahead of A-Loan?"

"As far as we know.." Shito replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "We also wanted to know what happened last night with you Kita-san."

Chika nodded eagerly, "I left you with him.. and obviously something bad happened since we're still under our contract.."

Michiru bit her lip, "I.. Well we fought and he was.. Fairly injured. I almost guided his soul, but something or someone had grabbed him." Her figure visibly drooped in sadness, "Gomen nasai, he escaped at the last moment and I could have easily finished everything, I—"

"Cheh," Chika wrapped his hands behind his silvery hair. "Don't worry yourself over it, Gopher. We have next time to get him. There's no way A-Loan wannabe losers can do it, and we got our bonus on top of all the zombies that were guided by Sotetsu and Ossan." He soothed, not liking how depressed the girl had suddenly become, "So… Don't worry."

"R-really?" She stared at them, feeling a rush of relief wash over her as they just stared at her stupidly like she had said something silly. 'Of course they mean every word they say, why wouldn't they?' She smiled sheepishly at them.

"Now get dressed, we're going out for breakfast. Then I gotta go to work, since it's Saturday and all." Chika told her in his usual happy tone, leaving her room with Shito trailing behind him.

"H-hai! I'll be out shortly!" Michiru replied just as happily, closing her door and changing into a new outfit. 'Today is going to be a good day,' She thought out of nowhere.

'I can feel it.'

-X-

A heavy barrier locked in any form of power that tried to escape the gloomy apartment complex that had been destroyed not too long ago in a fire. It still had a few floors that were liveable, but the fourteenth floor was definitely one to avoid.

Very rickety and all.

The location was fabulous, being in the heart of the city made traveling a bit easier, and the plans to rebuild this place wouldn't be done for another several months to come, which gave them plenty of time.

"Defeated by Z-Loan, and almost reaped. How very.. unnerving." Muttered the silver haired man darkly, "You have the Grim Reaper's core and yet you couldn't handle that little girl?!"

Shiba groaned and let out a choked laugh, "She wasn't any ordinary girl. That damn Michiru had incredible power and was really fast—" He tried to explain, weakly lifting his body from the floor to sit up into a more comfortable position.

"I don't care for excuses Shiba. No matter how handsome you may be, you are beginning to annoy me with your incompetence." Hakka-san bit out, playing with a piece of his hair, "You should have killed her without a problem.. But not to worry.." His eyes held a cruel glimmer, "I can fix that."

'Even if you have returned, you're bound to be weak until you realize your full potential. So we'll just have to kill you before that happens…' Hakka-san glanced out the broken window, his face twisting with hatred and malice as he laughed loudly, watching as the sun descended indicating the ending of the day.

'Yes, I will enjoy this..'

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**A/N OoooooOooo I was soo excited to write this chapter. I'm glad it's finally up. Plus I also have some news! I've got a new image that you guys can see, though it's not hinting about anything in future chapters. It's just a picture I thought would be cute to draw. It's one of Michiru if she had a core and it was taken, so she's all chibi in reaper form. Very cute, all done in colour. I also have some other pics of Zarame and Michiru together that are really cute, but they're not done yet since I still lack some markers to finish the colour.**

**So if you want to see chibi grim reaper Michiru, just e-mail me!!**

**Well, that's it. R&R**

**Ta ta for now!**


	6. Reaper's Perplexity

**Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N Whoa, long time no see eh? Well, I recently finished my other fic so I figured it was about time I updated this. On top of that, I'll be starting school again, my first year at college in my own apartment. Its an art school, so hopefully I'll be able to balance out everything okay and keep updating this until I finish it along with my other fanfict. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I have no beta so sorry about the typos and whatnots that you may find in this chapter. Mk? Now, on with the show!**

**P.S Thanks for the reviews guys! I hope to hear more from you!**

**P.P.S I wrote this chapter and note about hmm a month ago but fanfiction wouldn't let me upload anything. Then I moved into my apartment with my roommate and didn't have internet for a couple weeks. So if it weren't for allll of that, this would have been updated forever ago. So sorry about that guys! I do hope you enjoy this chapter!!**

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**Death Offer**

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Chapter 6. Reaper's Perplexity

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"Mi-chi-ru-chaaaaaaaan!"

"Michiruuuuu-chan!!"

She tried her best to refrain from twitching one of her eyes, the urge incredibly strong to show her annoyance towards the girls. Really, was it necessary to slur her name in such a fashion? What had she done to them to deserve to be yelled at in the middle of the hallway of a school filled with fellow students? Now everyone was staring at her as if she were walking around in her underwear.

Then again, since when has she become so annoyed with her friends? And her best friend Yumi-chan? 'I've been around Chika-kun far too much.' She deduced, turning around to smile uncertainly at her friends that rushed over to speak with her. She hadn't seen them since the last time she was in school, which had been… Last week? 'That's why they're excited to see me, I haven't attended school since the deadline has been fast approaching. I've missed so many days… In fact, I think today we're Thursday…'

"Where have you been, Michiru-chan? Do you have some secret boyfriend we don't know about?" Yumi pouted childishly, placing her hands on her hips.

"Or maybe she has a secret life we don't know about?" One other girl suggested, lifting a brow for emphasis.

"Oooh, what about a secret life with a secret boyfriend?" Another one squealed excitedly.

Michiru visibly paled at the thought of them knowing exactly what she's been up to for the past week. Shaking the thought away, she decided to nervously laugh and shake her head, her glasses drooping down her nose somewhat in the process, "E-eh? D-don't be silly g-girls! I've j-just been ill!" She stuttered fretfully, laughing sheepishly.

"Ah, how could we ever doubt you? Eh Michiru-chan?" Yumi placed her hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, I've been taking notes for you, so you know, you can catch up with us in class."

"R-really? Ar-Arigatou gozaimasu!" Michiru smiled sweetly.

"Well, its what friends are for, ne?"

How could she ever doubt her best friend? She was always there for her in so many ways.

She blinked her eyes rapidly and blushed in embarrassment upon realizing that she had spaced off. Apparently Yumi-chan had asked her a question, "A-ah g-gomen, but what did you say?"

"I said, who are you taking to the dance tomorrow?" Yumi-chan evaluated her face and shook her head, "You know, the school dance?"

School dance?

Oh no, school dance? Tomorrow?! She was supposed to go hunting tomorrow!

Thankfully the school bell rang, indicating that everyone should be in class at the moment. She had barely noticed that the hallways were emptying out so quickly and yelped. Of course the only day she decides to attend school she's late for her class.

"Gomen! B-but we're late!" Michiru screeched in a panicky tone.

The girls had separated, reluctantly in Yumi's view, but they had to go their separate ways. In a way, she missed school, and the learning environment. However in another, she enjoyed the freedom of doing whatever she liked. She enjoyed every moment she could get with Zarame-kun and would rather be with him than anyone else. She'd even ditch school just to spend time with him.

She was sorely disappointed when the boy of her dreams hadn't shown up at her school to sweep her off her feet like she'd imagined. Every class she was supposed to be paying attention in was ignored as she dozed off, thinking about her Reaper. She knew he was in town, she could feel him everywhere. It was strange though, she thought he was supposed to be gone by now, on some other continent reaping souls.

But he wasn't.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully while in the process of walking across the school grounds. She had mentally jumped with joy when Yumi-chan forgot to ask her about the school dance thing when they parted, which was good because she knew that she couldn't go. Chika-kun and Shito-kun would have a fit if they knew she was out having fun when they were supposed to be hunting, especially on a Friday night. Zombie appearances tended to skyrocket on Friday and Saturday nights in their city.

Her olive orbs flickered from bright to stony, her right hand reaching out instinctively to the side to block an oncoming weapon from striking her by surprise. Being in her more vulnerable form, she had easily cut her fingers against the sharp blade, but ignored the pain. Instead, she concentrated on the figure that held the blade.

"You were so deep in thought, I was worried that you wouldn't be as attentive to your surroundings as you should be." The velvety voice belonged to none other than Zarame-kun himself.

"Mou, you should know that I'm always aware of my surroundings." Michiru pouted, removing her hold from his scythe to observe her damaged limbs. A few minor cuts on the pads of her fingers that would heal with the help of either her powers or some band aids.

His amethyst orbs seemed to follow her gaze until he eyed the ugly wounds sourly. He had half expected her to transform when he attacked, but knew at the same time that she wouldn't because of the public area they were in. He himself was fine in public, as long as he had his reaper garments and his powers full blown, no ordinary human could see him. Michiru however, still had some troubles cloaking in public and not to mention if a human saw her transform and disappear it would mean trouble.

"I apologize for harming you," Zarame murmured softly, dematerializing his weapon with a small shimmer of light. His bandage clad fingers gently embraced her wounded digits with care as he inspected them. Very aware of her curious looks she was sending him, he had glanced up at her to wink, causing her to blush furiously.

Smirking he resumed his evaluation of her wounds and nodded briefly, raising one of his hands above hers slowly. His hand let of a small purplish glow while the bandages wrapped snugly around his own cool fingers unravelled themselves quickly. They kept loosening until his entire hand was exposed to the air, the bandages descending from him to her, rewrapping themselves around each of her wounded digits.

She felt the coolness of the bandages and welcomed the comfort their provided to her small injuries, admiring his work with a giggle. He really was a gentleman, a sexy yet equally dangerous gentleman.

She could live with that.

"Sugoi, they're perfectly wrapped." Michiru mumbled, smiling warmly at her boyfriend.

"Michiru-chaaaaan!"

She definitely cringed that time she heard the voice, daring to look back to see who it was that was calling her again. She gathered that she was the unluckiest girl of all since her best friend was now running up to her in a hurry. Just when she thought she had cleverly gotten away from her prying friend, Yumi-chan just overcomes her expectancies as if they meant nothing.

She offered the girl a shaky smile, hiding her hand behind her back in a smooth fashion. "Yumi-chan, what is it?"

Said girl panted from exhaustion, bending down to grip her knees tiredly and to breathe in. "I-I forgot to ask… about…" She motioned for her to wait one minute, her breath slowly to a decent intake, "…the school dance. I wanted to ask you if you were going." She finished.

"A school dance?" Zarame-kun voiced in confusion.

Michiru laughed sheepishly, scratching her cheek nervously, "Ah y-you see Yumi-chan.."

"You are going, right?" She eyed her friend with a smirk, "Because I have a date this time, which means you have to be there with a date too!"

_"Date?"_

Mentally, she was going off the walls, waving her hands frantically in the air to stop the two of them from breaking into a fight. This was all mentally of course since Yumi-chan couldn't see Zarame-kun at the moment. But if she could… Shaking her head, she decided that her imagination was far too wild.

"Ac-Actually—" Michiru began.

"Oooh, I bet Boy A or Boy B asked to go with you, huh?" Yumi-chan said in one of her flirty tones. As humiliating as this was, the girl had actually squealed more when Michiru had blushed. "O-oh!! I knew it!" She sniggered, winking at Michiru, "I'll see you tomorrow then, hm?" With that said, she had happily trotted off.

One block.

All she had needed to do to avoid this whole ordeal was to have turned the block so Yumi didn't see her. But nooo, Zarame just had to attack her before she rounded the block to successfully be out of the dangerous territories that were the school grounds. Damn, her life just sucked.

"Boy A? Boy B?" Zarame repeated after several moments of silence, "The Z-Loan boys?" He mused, the air suddenly feeling very chilly, "Why would they ask you to a school dance?"

She could have sworn she saw a tinge of red in his eyes, but shrugged it off as her mind playing tricks on her. There was no way he was jealous of her two best friends, just no way. He knew that she cared for him too much to leave him for either of her friends.

Right?

"Yumi-chan is just assuming this because they're the only boys she ever sees me with. D-don't worry Zara-kun, I'm sure if she saw you around our school more, then her opinion would have changed." Michiru stated brightly, waving his assumption off easily.

He watched her brush passed him to continue on with her walk home and didn't follow after her until a few more seconds had ticked by. He snorted and was then in step with her, his arms crossed stubbornly across his chest while his gaze looked everywhere but at her. His teeth gnawed nervously on the inside of his cheek, his thoughts bouncing back and forth from the Z-Loan boys to the school dance.

"Are you going to attended this occasion tomorrow night?" He questioned coolly, trying his best not to let his temper get the best of him right now.

The lilac haired girl looked as if she hadn't heard him, but he knew it was because at the moment they were crossing a street with several people around them. Once she had arrived on the other side and separated herself from the group, she had turned to him, "I can't. Chika-kun and Shito-kun need me tomorrow night." She answered smoothly, looking ahead again, "We need to win this competition, or we'll all be dead."

He finally looked at her, his chest swelling with such a fond admiration of her loyalties to her friends. "And your friend, that Yumi girl, what will happen with her? She will be very angry with you."

She knew that already, since their discussion in the hallway at school. Yumi-chan will be angry, but she could deal with it, "Everything will be fine." She nodded to herself, her short locks swaying cutely against her pale cheeks, "Ah! We're almost home, I can't wait."

"You do realize that you will be dragged out by them to hunt as soon as you step passed those doors." He stated boredly.

"I know," She smiled largely and brightly. "That's to be expected since my partners are always so excited to go out. I-I don't really get bothered anymore by their restlessness and rush for guiding the souls. I actually find myself looking forward to it!"

"That idiot, white haired boy has rubbed far too much off on you."

Michiru merely stuck out her tongue at him playfully until they got to the dorms and were mulled by the two boys they spoke of. She barely had a chance to take off her shoes before Chika, whom had literally appeared out of nowhere, had grabbed her by her arms and turned her around so that they could march right out. Shito had somehow also appeared out of nowhere and was waiting for them just outside the doors, where only seconds ago she had just passed to get inside.

"The Reaper has been taking us all over the place today, you know that? And damn, he was so hard to keep up with!" Chika complained, shooting glares at Zarame who merely scoffed at him. "Bottom line, your boyfriend is an ass."

She brushed off his insults, "So then you went hunting together? I'm surprised you still want to go out."

"We rested ourselves enough and are ready to go once again." Shito replied.

She nodded, "Speaking of which," then turned to her amused boyfriend, "Ano… a-ano why are you here, Zara-kun? You've been around us for a week, shouldn't you be somewhere else?" She asked.

Zarame's crimson brows rose in mock shock while a smooth smile spread across his lips, "Would you like me to leave, Michiru-chan?" He asked in his velvety deep voice.

The schoolgirl squeaked, shaking her head rapidly while her arms flailed in the air on their own accord, "N-no!! Th-that's not what I meant—I-I mean that you have your d-duties to attend to around the world an—"

He chuckled deeply, motioning for her to calm down, "I was merely jesting Michiru-chan." He reassured her, touching her cheek with his un-bandaged hand softly.

"Kita-san is correct however, why is it you are still here with us?" The blue haired man asked, eyeing the Reaper warily.

Chika crossed his arms behind his head, "Cheh, probably because of his girlfriend."

"I highly doubt that," Shito argued. "There must be more of a reason beyond that."

"No way, this baka is way too important to just stay here all the time. It only makes sense that he's here to be with his_ one true love_." He blinked his eyelashes prettily, having expressed his last words in a girlish voice.

For a moment, Shito could have sworn he saw a lovey dovey heart background form around Chika while he mocked the Reaper. He closed his eyes briefly to erase the image and replace it with a more violent one of the Grim Reaper beating the daylights out of his partner. Nodding in satisfaction, he opened his eyes and imagined just that, ignoring everyone else around him for a couple minutes.

"Watch your mouth, porcupine." The Reaper sneered, snorted at Chika's foul behaviour. He ran a bandaged hand through his reddish locks to calm himself, and looked away from all of them. "The reason I am here is because I have been strictly ordered to remain here for an undetermined period of time."

"Ordered?" Chika tilted his head to the side. "_You_ have a boss?"

Zarame shot him an incredulous look, "I reap souls to deliver them to the next realm. In that realm they are then judged by my superior, the Lord of the Underworld."

"Ah, _that_ boss." Chika swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Exactly," Zarame smiled to himself darkly. "He truly is a frightful man. He had ordered for me to remain in this city until my core has been located and destroyed. My duties across the world have been given to several new Reapers that have recently been created. They are known as Substitute Shinigami."

"Great, more Reapers." Chika grumbled under his breath. "Are they as powerful as you then? 'Cause that's just stupid to have all these Reapers with crazy powers—"

Zarame touched the temple of his head, rubbing small circles, "No, they only carry a fraction of power compared to Michiru-chan and I. Though they have enough to defend themselves and reap human souls effortlessly." He looked at the group, "If all goes well, this will be a new system that I will be in charge of once this petty battle with illegal zombies comes to an end."

"Very interesting," Shito murmured quietly to himself, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Michiru beamed at the thought of having her boyfriend around her for so much time. It would be just like the days back in his world, the days when they trained hard together. She had enjoyed every bit of time she had with him despite the hard work he put her through and how beaten and bloodied she'd get. They had been some of the greatest experiences of her life since they not only trained but also explored the plane of his world together for those four years. Shaking her head, she brought herself back to reality where her friends continued to chat about the Substitute Shinigami amiably.

While her friends spoke, she decided to do a quick scan of the city to get a rough idea of the number of illegal zombies that were still out there. She removed her round glasses and focused her gaze ahead of them, searching for black rings and strong power signatures. Wincing, she came to notice that there were several new zombies that were being created and left all over the place. The population of the undead was slowly rising, and she had a sneaky suspicion that a certain ex-best friend played a key role in this.

Except that if he was, then it meant that he was hiding his power signature very well.

'He's getting better at controlling his abilities,' She thought while another black ringed zombie flew by her stretched vision. 'There are also more than twenty zombies scattered across the western part of the city,' She thought in mild alarm, not liking the increase one bit. All at once, her vision had reverted backwards at a fast pace, her olive eyes blinking rapidly once her vision was back to normal.

The first thing she noticed when she looked back at her friends, was that their group had grown by two people. She had sensed Bekko-san arrive without a problem, however Undertaker-san had surprised her. She didn't expect him to arrive at their dorms of all places, and willingly as well. Though, he did look very depressed.

"Bekko-san?"

The gloomy man nodded at her, pushing up his glasses, "Ah, Michiru-chan I see you've returned. Find anything interesting?"

She blushed and looked away, "…Only several new zombies.." She felt her partners stare at her in glee and in a somewhat disturbed manner. She figured that they were happy to make more money, but frightened at the amount of new zombies that were being created.

"So you sensed this, hm? Not surprising I suppose. You were trained by the Shinigami himself after all." His voice sounded almost like it was groaning, but she knew it was just the way he spoke. "Come everyone, I have some important news to tell you." He waved at them, gesturing for everyone to follow him back into the dorms.

Her partners, Shito and Chika, were none too pleased about this. Well, mostly Chika-kun. Shito-kun could control the display of his feelings much more easily than the rampaging Chika, though you could tell he was at least very irritated. The irritation had grown into a full blown scowl of annoyance when Chika finally exploded on the Ferryman, his voice gradually getting louder and making the walls even quake.

Undertaker-san was pretty much useless at calming down the white haired boy, and cowered behind Sotetsu whom had agreed to join in on their meeting in the living room. Chika didn't shut up until he was forced to sit down on the couch by Koyomi-san and a very angry Shito-kun.

Bekko-san had cleared his throat, crossing his legs comfortably while he leaned back in his chair, "Well then, now that we're settled…" At this point, the whole room shot glares at the spiky haired boy who just crossed his arms and snorted. "We can begin. I have been informed of a recent break in that occurred in the WFO. This occurrence happened Monday evening and the item stolen was none other than the core that was removed from the ARRC member Chitose."

Of course the first person to speak was Chika-kun, whom had choked loudly and pointed an accusing finger at Bekko-san, "Don't you guys have security in that place?! Come on! We just caught him and you guys lost his core?!"

Koyomi ignored the loud mouth sitting next to her and questioned more calmly, "Is Chitose still in custody or did he also disappear?"

The Ferryman had smiled almost cruelly, "It appears he has been left behind. He is still under the custody of the Higher Ups and has not said a word, even when he was told of the theft of his core."

"At least he doesn't have it, which is good right?" Sotetsu asked.

"Not exactly." Michiru replied, "Someone more dangerous may have possession of his core."

"Very good," Bekko-san nodded, "You can see how this can pose as problematic for us. I also believe it's the reason why the amount of zombies have been increasing. ARRC is moving quickly." He observed everyone's reactions and continued, "It is for these reasons that I have everyone under Z-Loan now hunting for these illegal zombies. They could become quite a hassle if they begin to come into contact with humans."

"So Undertaker-san…?" Koyomi looked over at the nervous man, blinking her eyes in question.

"He is to be put under your care, Sotetsu-san. You can train him to use his powers. Yuuta-kun has already been doing a small portion of work to help us, I'm sure you can as well." Bekko-san stated.

"B-but I c-can't hunt, I don't like violence—" Undertaker-san tried to reason, but was cut off by Sotetsu's roar of laughter. The red head had claimed that as soon as he was done with him, he would love hunting.

"Yes well, on a lighter note," The blond haired man stood up. "Your score this week is still beyond A-Loan, and more than half way, keep up the good work everyone."

"Hell yeah!" Chika boasted, jumping off the couch in excitement.

That night, they were all balls of energy when they finally got out to hunt. Zarame-kun had even joined them to see if he could find any trace of Shiba or any other ARRC members that were lurking somewhere around town. They didn't find anything major but on the other hand had guided a good deal of souls to the next realm without much of a hassle. Especially with little Michiru-chan on their side, things seemed to be moving quite smoothly.

That is until the topic of the school dance tomorrow evening had come up. Michiru knew that she wasn't going, but her partners just had to make a big deal out of it. She, the timid schoolgirl, was actually beginning to get angry with her friends. She never gets angry, ever.

Tugging her furry white hood over her head, she tried her best to calm herself. Her boyfriend even began to notice her change in attitude and tried to comfort her as best as he could. The air had grown hot and muggy despite the fact that it was pretty cool outside that night. Zarame-kun knew that it was indeed her causing the temperature to rise and often heard the boys complain about the damnable heat, so he tried to even it out with his own innate coolness.

Naturally as soon as they arrived back home again, everyone had cooled off and gone to take their shower. It was the girls turn for the baths and Michiru was there in a heartbeat with a towel and her pyjamas. Koyomi had been there also with her and together they relaxed in the hot water, enjoying each other's company.

"You know, I felt you earlier." Koyomi's voice had dropped an octave, leading Michiru to believe Yomi was now speaking. "Were you in trouble?"

"E-eh?" Michiru squeaked, lowering herself deeper into the water. "N-no, just a little angry."

"Oh," Yomi breathed. "Why?"

"Silly things, that's all." Michiru blew bubbles in the water, slightly humming to herself. Apparently she seemed depressed, and to this Koyomi had remerged and scared the living daylights out of Michiru with her sudden outburst of bubblyness. She had mentally decided never to be sad around Koyomi again since her life pretty much depended on it.

Changing up the topic, Michiru had mentally smirked and ask, "So then, what of you and Sotetsu-san?" To this, Koyomi had screeched and blushed madly, ushering Michiru to keep her voice down. The lilac haired girl couldn't help but giggled at her friend's shyness and complied to keeping her voice low for her sake.

The girl then proceeded to tell her a story that involved her drinking too much fanta and getting drunk one night.

To this Michiru-chan had nodded her head, knowing quite well just how drunk she could get off of the soda. Technically this shouldn't be able to happen since it's only soda and all, but then again Koyomi did have her strange quirks. In Koyomi's case, maybe it was actually possible to get drunk off not only alcohol but soda as well. Michiru's thoughts continued to wander all the while half paying attention to her friend's story that she was telling. She registered that Koyomi had concluded her tale by telling her that Sotetsu, at the time, had had too much tequila… Putting two and two together, Michiru had turned crimson, barely registering the words that were coming out of Koyomi's mouth.

Apparently, the two ended up waking up next to each other… ahem… _naked_ the next morning.

"_Kyaaaaa_—!" Michiru blushed, feeling Koyomi place her hands over her mouth to keep her from drawing unwanted attention to them.

"Shh! Shhhhh! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Koyomi sputtered, "D-don't tell anyone! B-but… I never had the courage to ask him if it meant anything or if it was just you know... an accident?"

Michiru nodded behind the hand, and removed it. She swore that she would tell no one and advised Koyomi to ask him about it. If she did like him, it was worth knowing. Plus, maybe he had feelings for her too.

When the girls had walked out of the baths, Michiru was greeted by Zarame-kun clad in a pair of black sweatpants.

Only black sweatpants.

Koyomi was drooling at the sight of him, but then had torn her eyes away to remind herself who she was totally in love with and why it was bad to stare at other people's boyfriends. She had said her goodnights to them and walked off in a separate direction, mentally hoping that Zarame hadn't been standing there for too long or else he would have over heard the story.

Meanwhile Michiru had asked him how long he was waiting for her. He had easily replied that he'd been there the whole time since he was used to being in the baths with her when he lost his core. He didn't missed the dark blush that coated her cheeks while she looked away, and smirked to himself, allowing a small snicker to pass his lips.

"Don't worry yourself, you know I'm not a hentai." He purred, wrapping one of his bare arms around her waist to lead her back to their room. Yes, he absolutely refused to return to the room Chika-kun and Shito-kun assigned him and often spent his nights with Michiru-chan. Of course as far as he knew, the boys didn't know he spent his nights with Michiru. He would cleverly use his disappearing trick and appear back into the room he was supposed to be in seconds before they reached Michiru's door. This way he could avoid painful headaches from Chika's obnoxiously loud voice in the mornings, thus placing him in a better mood for the remainder of the day.

They had tucked themselves into bed together, Michiru instantly snuggling up to him. He didn't mind this and often wrapped his arms around her to bring her closer. Despite what many other immortals say, the Grim Reaper isn't such a terrible man unless provoked really. Besides that, he was glad that someone saw beyond those stereotype remarks, and he cherished Michiru-chan that much more.

Michiru had rubbed her cheek and nose against Zarame-kun's bare chest, and then looked up at him. Despite her glasses being gone, she still had very good vision and she could clearly see that Zara-kun was currently zoned out. She had nudged him softly, but it did nothing to move him, so instead she spoke, "Ne Zara-kun, are you alright?" She asked.

His blank look had homed in to her sparkling eyes, and he blinked. He just stared at her until he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. One hand had moved to tangle itself in his reddish locks, and he grasped his head in mild pain. "I'm fine," He managed to breath out smoothly. "Rest now, tomorrow will be another eventful day."

She had hesitantly nodded, moving herself into a more comfortable position against his chest before drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Though she seemed to be sleeping blissfully in Zarame's eyes, truly her mind was plagued with too many thoughts and it brought the girl dark nightmares. She hadn't had the strength to wake up until a few hours before dawn, a surge of bad feelings tightening her chest uncomfortably.

Today was going to be a bad day.

-X-

He let out a sigh of relief, silence finally surrounding him as he relaxed in his chair and looked outside duly. Another rainy Friday, Bekko-san mentally deduced, but with chances of clearing up by the evening. Tonight wouldn't be the best night to hunt, but then again Michiru did have the uncanny ability to dry up the air with a flick of a wrist. He mentally grinned, pushing up his glasses out of habit to hide his mysterious eyes.

In the reflection of the window, he could see himself sitting in his desk chair, except he imagined himself in his Ferryman uniform. He personally found the thing passé and preferred to wear his human attire. Telling the council this little fact would surely have every other Ferryman blow up at him for even suggesting changing a traditional look. All except Hakka-san, he would most likely give it thought and see about creating a new uniform that brought out their rear ends more.

Speaking of which, that man has been under the radar for the past week. This to Bekko-san was very unnerving. Especially since now he knew that Hakka-san was aware of Michiru's abilities, and hadn't even confronted him about it yet.

Bekko-san pursed his lips, continuing to stare at himself silently, hearing Yuuta-kun in the distance preparing his afternoon tea in the kitchen. Also, he heard the click of his door close. He sighed, not even bothering to turn around to see whom it was, "If you are not a customer to my branch please leave." He said dully.

Before he had a chance to turn around and threatened the newcomer, his mouth was covered by something foul, the stinking flesh burning his nose. His chair was next and was forcibly turned for him to witness two illegal zombies that had somehow made it into his office. None looked all too well, and their smell was beyond horrendous.

There was a female with long black hair, beady eyes, and that was very well rounded. Her companion that held a hand over his mouth was a male with short blond locks, dead blue eyes and a pale skinny frame. How these two idiots managed to walk into his office was beyond him and proved quite well the extent of the new number of zombies appearing everywhere.

'What an annoyance..'

Yuuta-kun had been humming to himself while he carried his tray of tea out of the kitchen. He was particularly proud of his blend today and hoped that the Ferryman would appreciate the new tea he got. He was told specific instructions for the steeping so that he could get the best flavour possible from the tealeaves. He mentally thanked the sales woman and sighed blissfully at the heavenly smell of the blend.

Opening his eyes he smiled, "Bekko-saaan, I have your te—" He looked from the two zombies to the Ferryman, his tray of tea slipping out of his fingers.

The loud clattering noise was enough of a distraction to allow the Ferryman to disentangled himself from the male zombie and leap on the other side of his desk. "It appears we have visitors Yuuta-kun." He muttered.

The young boy nodded, "W-what should we do?"

"I don't carry many abilities to battle against the undead in this fashion, but you do. You have been slaying zombies, haven't you?" Bekko-san asked.

"E-eh, w-well only small animals. Nothing human yet.. I'm not sure.." Yuuta-kun looked up at the corpses now walking towards them. They didn't look to have much of a mind of their own, as if their bodies were moving on their own accord.

"I suggest trying," Bekko-san had by then transformed into his Ferryman garments, a large ore shimmering in his hands.

Yuuta-kun observed the tall Ferryman for a single moment longer, his mind now made up. He could certainly try to slay these things, they were just a bit bigger then the animals he guided to the next world.

Okay, much bigger.

His healing hands glowed a firm golden colour, and he nodded towards Bekko-san. The two had charged the zombies, though Yuuta wasn't very proud of his small yelps and whimpers, he still managed to make a difference. His partner, Bekko-san, used his ore much like a baseball bat to beat the zombies to a pulp while Yuuta-kun wrapped them up in his healing bandages.

The two successfully mummified the zombies, his bandages glowing golden while the souls of the dead were forced to leave. The younger boy had guided them with his amber light, and then the bodies ceased to move.

Yuuta's knees had given out at this point, and he stared wearily at the bandaged wrapped bodies, shooting looks towards the equally disturbed Bekko-san. "N-ne ne Bekko-san, for brainless zombies… they didn't seem to have such a hard time getting in here."

He grunted a reply, wrinkling his nose in disgust at the stench the bodies were still giving off, "Aa, I realise that."

Just then, the door to the Z-Loan office had bursted open revealing the person he least wanted to see. The silver haired man did look genuinely concerned, but he suspected it was all an act he revised over and over again. Along side him was his team A-Loan looking equally concerned and ready to fight.

"Toko felt the presence of zombies here and we came as fast as we could!" Zen panted, twin sword still snugly in his grasp.

"Except that we were also attacked to it took us some time to take care of them first," Toko explained, eyeing the bodies on the floor curiously. "But you guys… Already took care of things.."

"Bekkoooo-chaaaaaaaaan! Using your ore in such an unfashionable way is not advisable! You could break it! And they are so difficult to replace!" Hakka-san beamed, his team sweat dropping at his cheeriness.

Shuji scratched the back of his head dully, and stared at them, "Where did these things come from anyways? Usually they don't make it to specific places like this." He voiced, chewing his bubblegum rather loudly and blowing bubbles.

"Eeeh, that is a good question." Toko replied, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"Hell I don't care! If they come to us then that means we don't have to chase them anymore." Zen grinned, dematerializing his weapons in a glow.

"That's the spirit!!" Hakka-san clapped, motioning for them to leave since they seemed eager now to hunt. He was about to leave with them until he turned around and looked at Bekko-san in a very disturbed fashion, but then he smiled again, "By the way, I heard of your little trump card. She is very different, isn't she?" He leaned up against the doorframe and continued, his team long gone by then leaving only him with Bekko-san and Yuuta-kun, "Michiru-chan does remind me of someone judging by the description of her abilities, but I can't seem to understand how she was able to develop them without my knowing." He pursed his lips and pouted, "How could you keep such a secret from me Bekko-chan." He feigned being hurt.

Bekko-san resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead kept his solid gaze set on his emotional president, "I couldn't imagine how this happened. I personally wasn't aware either." He replied in his usual dull manner, "Something must have occurred for her spark her true power. Perhaps the urgency for survival?" He mentally laughed at the glared he received from his president, the look only lasting for a split second before a large fake smile plastered itself across his lips.

"I guess your right! Well, I better go! I have a lot of work to do, you know, since the whole incident with the theft and all… I need to help with the investigation!"

Cocking his head to the side, Bekko-san raised an eyebrow, "So you've been gone because you were in the other realm helping with the theft?"

"Of course! As president of the River Management Department, I need to be present to help as much as I can." Hakka-san explained, grabbing a piece of his silver locks to twirl in between his fingers, "Where else do you think I've been?"

The Ferryman graced him with a shrug and motioned for him to leave, "No, that's where I thought you were, but I was simply making sure."

"Ah, well I'm off then. Bye bye Bekkooo-chan!!" Hakka-san smiled again, leaving the two in the room with the bodies. Unbeknownst by them, he had frowned and glared at the stairs on his way down. Stopping midway, he decided that he didn't care for continuing down the steps and had instead chosen to vanish in a blue glow.

Michiru had arrived not a second after Hakka-san had left, a pool of white feathers circling her on the wooden floor where she had appeared along with a very wet Shito-kun and Chika-kun. Her eyes had dropped and evaluated the two bodies much how Toko had, and immediately she looked over to Yuuta-kun, "Well done, Yuu-Yuu." She pulled back her wet hood and smiled warmly at the boy.

Yuuta-kun beamed, "Thank you Chiru-Chiru!"

"You did this, brat?" Chika poked at the mummied bodies with his katana to ensure that they really were soulless.

Shito had rolled his eyes at his partner, "Obviously, baka."

The white haired boy had turned at his partner sharply, brandishing his katana, "What did you call me, shit-Shito?" He challenged.

Michiru sighed, this was the fifth time the two got into a fight today. If Zarame-kun were here, this wouldn't be happening right now. But noo, he had to separate from them to go and investigate the appearances of all of the zombies. In reality she figured he made up the story just so he could get away from the bickering fools he often threatened.

Bekko-san had pinched the bridge of his nose, his annoyance clear to everyone. He had just dealt with one group of loud banchies not two minutes ago and now he had these two arguing baka's to deal with. He huffed and transformed back into his normal human attire and shot dull glares at the two now wrestling boys on his freshly cleaned hardwood floor.

"You will not behave like this in my office." He firmly told them, though his hunched back made him look harmless, the evident flames of anger burning around him were very frightening and had effectively alerted the boys. "Now remove these bodies from my office before I decide to end your contracts now and leave you to die."

Chika swallowed the lump in his throat nervously and laughed lightly, "N-now you wouldn't do that, would you? Then you'd have to deal with three more bodies to toss out."

Another glare had made him snap his mouth shut and move to get to the bodies.

"Where do you suggest we leave them? We cannot simply toss them in the trash like this, humans are bound to be suspicious and see us." Shito, the obvious smarter of the two had said.

"What about Chiru-Chiru transporting them?" Yuuta suggested.

Michiru shuffled around uncomfortably, "W-well, it's more difficult to bring them with me like this than if they were alive. And they're larger than Shito-kun and Chika-kun.." She mumbled, thinking things over. "I can see about bringing one at the time to a remote location in the woods, outside of town."

"Good, Shito-kun and Chika-kun can bury them there. Now then, get to work. Their smell is very sickening." Bekko-san spoke, walking back to his desk to sit in his chair.

Once his chair was turned away, everyone had exchanged quick looks, something that had not gone unnoticed by Bekko-san since he could see in the reflection of the window. They were all clearly worried about the outbreak of zombies, and he too was a little miffed by the ordeal.

'ARRC is definitely moving quickly…'

-X-

Humming softly, she continued to stir her spicy chilli with pride. His mouth would water once he caught a whiff of this stuff. Then he would have to love her if he wanted to have some. Yes, her plan was flawless since she knew his weak point to be food, and this was Mexican food, so he would barely resist it!

Koyomi's eyes lit up as a fantasy clouded her vision, hearts surrounding them as they danced together on a fluffy white cloud—no, as they dance together in a ball room. He would then confess his undying love to her and explain how afraid he was of talking about his feelings. Next, he would look deeply in her eyes and—

"Koyomi?"

The girl snapped out of her fantasy briefly, noting that she was staring rather deeply at her wooden spoon that was only centimetres from her lips. She yelped and hid the spoon behind her back, her face flushing in embarrassment. She mumbled a small prayer to the gods, asking them to have anyone but Sotetsu-san behind her. Anyone. Even Zarame-sama sounded ideal at the moment.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she slowly turned around and waited a few seconds, and then she gradually opened her eyes and cursed. Before even speaking with Sotetsu, she glared up at the ceiling and cursed the gods for giving her such bad luck. By then Sotetsu-san had by passed her to look inside of the pot, completely ignoring her to stare heartily at the food.

"Is this dinner?"

Turning away from the ceiling she beamed, "Hai! I thought we could try some foreign food tonight." She explained, placing the spoon in the chilli to stir again, "Would you like to try it?"

Sotetsu grinned widely, "Yeah!"

She had already taken out a spoon for him and watched carefully how he delicately scooped up some of her chilli and tried it. She kept her fingers crossed, waiting for his reaction to her cooking and smiled beautifully when he complemented her.

"This is the best chilli anyone's made!" He howled, licking his lips, "I can't wait for dinner!"

Koyomi blushed cutely, "W-well um.." 'Should I ask him now? I really want to know but…'

"Oh? Are you feeling all right? You're face looks pretty red there Koyomi." Sotetsu examined her thoughtfully.

She blushed even more and took a step back from him, bumping into the counter, "Ah huh! I'm fine!" She managed to squeak, "But I.. I was wondering something.." She mumbled.

_'Tell him. You're nervousness around him and constant obedience to his every request is irritating me.'_

'E-eh?' Koyomi blinked, her eyes unfocused for a moment and then found themselves set on Sotetsu.

"Yeah? What is it?" Sotetsu asked, giving her another irresistible grin.

Koyomi could practically melt right now, "D-do you remember.. No, I was wondering.. W-well I r-really.. I um.. That is to say… I.." She mumbled something incoherent under her breath.

Sotetsu gave her a questionable look, "What was that?"

"I said.. I really like.. um.. you." Koyomi mumbled again, relief washing over her now that he heard her and that she finally got the words out of her mouth.

"You like me?" He repeated, scratching the back of his neck, "Hmm.."

The slow smile that crept onto his face mildly frightened her, though her inner self kept trying to tell her to grow up and calm down, she couldn't help but jump when he got closer to her. Their close proximity made her that much more nervous, and made her wish that she was at least drunk on fanta so that she would be more calm and flirtatious.

"So," He breathed, leaning in seductively, "How about you become my girlfriend then?"

"G-girl…" She couldn't even process the thought correctly, her breath hitching.

He had leaned away all too fast and chuckled softly, "Yep!"

She should have passed out a long time ago from lack of oxygen since she stopped breathing the moment he leaned in. Finally, she had let out the breath she held in for so long and breathed in new air. Her head swirled with the possibilities of them together, all the kissing they'd do, and the other unmentionables… She blushed and nodded her head, "H-hai! I would love to be your girlfriend!!" She squealed, hugging Sotetsu-san fiercely.

"Alright!" He hugged her back, "Now then, as my girlfriend you need to stay out of trouble, alright? I don't need anything bad happening to you."

'_Ugh, men. I think I'm going to be sick.'_

"Right!" Koyomi gushed, mentally sticking out her tongue at her other self for insulting her and her new boyfriend.

The tattooed man had squeezed her one last time before separating, "Listen, I need to head out for a bit. But I'll definitely be back for that chilli, 'kay Koyomi?"

She nodded vigorously and watched him leave the kitchen. When she was sure he was out of earshot, she had jumped up and down with glee and pumped the air with her fist in victory. Michiru was right about confronting him, though she didn't mention the incident the two of them had together, she did however manage to make them boyfriend and girlfriend!

Turning back to her chilli she stirred it again, taking the spoon out so that she could put a guard over the pot to keep the mixture from popping tomato sauce everywhere. She had moved so that she could begin washing dishes and then something strange had happened. Her other self, Yomi they called her, had just overwhelmed her senses and she felt her head tilt upward to look outside.

Before she could protest, everything had gone black.

.

.

Darker eyes glared outside coolly, observing the evening that was still rather cloudy, but at least the rain had passed. This left the grounds quite damp and humid, but she could manage that.

Removing her hands from the hot, soapy water, she had changed out of her apron and left the dorm grounds silently. She could feel a strong, foul aura little ways away from this point and opted to walk towards it instead of remaining a safe distance away.

'Something terrible is happening.'

-X-

"It's here, all the disturbances are coming from this place."

"The school? Damn it Gopher, are you just trying to go to the school dance?! 'Cause obviously that's the only thing happening here!" Bellowed none other than Chika-kun himself.

"Akatsuki, please tell me that you are just being ignorant right now.." Shito growled, eying his idiot partner.

"Ignorant? What the hell are you talking about ignor—" He was cut off by a sharp pain in his foot, and shouted loudly, "It-tai Itaiiii! That was my _foot_, you bastard!"

Shito crossed his arms rather haughtily content, ignoring the swearing white haired boy, "There's a dark presence that even I can sense."

"Through my eyes, there's a large black cloud covering the grounds. Something is wrong beyond this point," She emphasized their position at the school gates. "If we choose to enter, it may be difficult to leave."

"Are you serious Gopher? What make's you think we can't leave?"

"I'm not sure..." Michiru pulled down the hood of her cloak, taking in the grounds in more detail, "I think we should wait for Zarame-kun."

"Why—" Chika was about to protest when the sound of a roaring engine filled his ears, "Cheh, of course this wouldn't be any fun without good ol' Sotetsu here." He mirrored Shito's stance, the trio now staring at a nearing Sotetsu.

He had revved the engine once before slowing to a stop, tilting his bike to the side ever so slightly and placing the weight on one leg. He nodded to them and shot them a smile, "So, Bekko-san wasn't kidding when he said this place was being weirdly tampered with." He whistled at the creepy looking school, "That's some strong power in there."

"Mou, go away Sotetsu. This is gunna be our kill." Chika grunted with a bit of a whine.

"Wait one moment, Akatsuki. We may need Asou's assistance." Shito told him, ignoring his partner's growls of protest.

"Yeah Chika, chill." Sotesu added, "Besides, you guys can have the kill, I'm just sorta worried about how bad it is. Bekko-san said something about an immortal and dimensions and it got all weird," He drawled, "Anyways, he wants all hands on deck for this. So you guys wait here while I go get Shimotsuki-san and Otsu-san."

"Wh-what?!" Chika was practically foaming at the mouth, about to give the red head a piece of his mind, but his shoulder began to hurt. Looking back he saw that Michiru was squeezing it rather tightly and forced a smile at Sotetsu, agreeing to his terms. Before the teen knew it, the damn motorcycle-obsessed-slash-crazy-food-hunting-idiot-of-a-hunter was gone. "Shit," He cursed, turning back to the school grounds.

He had just begun spacing off when he caught sight of something in the distance. Uncrossing his arms, he had focussed his gaze on a spot that was gradually getting bigger as it approached, then it split into several more large forms. All this was happening in the darkened schoolyard, which made him even more attentive. Now that they were closer, they looked an awful lot like an army of illegal zombies.

"Oi, look over there," He pointed.

Shito had dully followed his partner's finger and found that there was a group of zombies slowly making their way towards them. Frowning at the group he had exchanged looks with his grinning partner and detached his right hand. Quickly, they tossed each other their correct hands and formed their respective weapons. "Zombies," He confirmed.

Before Michiru could stop them, they had entered the grounds to go after the enemies. She shook her head in dismay at their impatience and followed after them, nearly summoning her weapons until she felt something different about these particular zombies. Concentrating harder, she recognized most of these things were students from their school and most importantly, none of them had the permanent black ring around either of their necks.

"Stop! Don't harm them!" She yelled fiercely.

The boy's were now back to back and shot her confused looks. Luckily no shots had been fired yet, but Shito had pulled down the safety on his gun and Chika was just itching to slice and dice.

"What, Gopher!"

They were surrounding the boys.

"They're humans! They aren't zombies!"

They reached out to the boys.

"Perfect," Shito muttered sarcastically, reluctantly dematerialising his gun with a glow. The boys had proceeded to punch the surprisingly well dressed 'humans' away from them. Though no matter how hard they tried, they just kept on coming back bruises and all. With such a large amount of humans against them, they had been surrounded in no time at all leaving Michiru no choice but to get in there herself and transport them away.

Not that they were complaining.

They had landed in front of one of the many sets of school doors, Chika nominating himself to kick open the doors. Except that they were sealed shut, not even the combined thrusts of he and Shito could budge the metal things. Not that this was surprising to them since they were more used to breaking into places through windows, not the front doors. Turning around, the boys had given Michiru a look that clearly said well-are-you-gunna-sit-there-or-help-Gopher?

Shooting one last look at the approaching mob, she had turned around and ushered them away. Taking a good look at the doors, she ignored Chika's yells for her to just do her thing faster. She narrowed her eyes on the metallic things with distaste, noting the minor seal that was placed over it. No wonder Chika-kun and Shito-kun were having such a hard time, the seal was intended to ward off zombies and everything else that was tainted with even the tiniest bit of death. This meant that someone else was in the school, but they could deal with that problem once they got to it.

"Kita-san!" Shito struggled against the first two humans that approached him.

"Hurry up Gopher!" Chika-kun howled at her.

Nodding, she pushed one hand forward onto one of the crackling doors. She had easily broken through the spell and shoved open the doors forcefully, the things swinging back so fast, that they hit the walls with a loud bang. Turning back to the boys, she winced at all the humans that had caught up so quickly and placed her palms against the ground.

A tall wall of fire had separated the humans from her friends, giving them some minor burns in the process. However with this distraction, the boys were able to successfully get into the school, followed by her.

Once they were in, they were quick to close the doors and seal them shut once again. Though not before Shito had caught a glance of something strange. He had stored that particular piece of information in his mind carefully, opting to bring it up later once they were safe. Until then, Michiru was enchanting the doors so that these things couldn't come in after them. As soon as that was done, Shito had kicked his partner in the shins and glared fiercely, "This is your fault, porcupine. We could have very well just walked into a trap."

"Ow! You ass! _You're_ the one who swapped hands with me! You baka!" He defended, ready to take out his katana to beat some sense into him.

"Please stop," Michiru held out her hands in defence. "We need to move away from the doors and see if there are any more of our classmates in the school."

"Can you not sense them?" Shito asked curiously, having calmed down in seconds.

Chika also observed her, "Yeah, aren't you suppose to sense these things Gopher?"

She really wanted to scowl at them, however her face remained unmoving, "These are humans. I can only sense the dead and in addition there is a strong force here clouding my senses even more. I can't even tell if there are any other zombies in this building besides us."

"Great," Chika crossed his arms behind his head and began walking down the familiar hallway. "Let's go look then."

The group had been walking through the entire section of the school they were in, Michiru having pointed out the various seals that were on all of the windows and main doors that led to the outside. They had first combed the main floor, and then had begun to look over the second floor.

Just as they exited another classroom, they had finally run into someone. Well, more like a group of annoying wannabes. That's right, A-Loan was now in front of them, Zen and Chika already pointing to each other with an accusing finger and shouting 'you!' at one another. This was then followed by a heated argument of whom followed who and how crazy this whole ordeal was.

"You should have seen the other wing of the school! It's just crawling with those weird human things! And why the hell they're all dressed fancy is beyond—" Zen was cut off by Michiru.

"—Those are our classmates. Please refrain from insulting them." Michiru stated in her dull but strong tone of voice. Somewhere in that mass of people, she knew Yumi-chan would be there with her date she was supposed to meet.

The boy had gone and apologized in a stutter, earning a hit in the head by Toko who told him specifically not to be so nice to the enemy. Though looking at the situation they were in made her think that maybe they shouldn't be feuding right now.

"Someone must have done something to control everyone who came to the school dance." Michiru pondered aloud, "Since they are clearly humans."

"Ano…" Toko spoke up, exchanging looks with everyone, "I do remember seeing darts on a couple of them." She nodded to herself slowly, "Yeah, they had them sticking out of them."

"Darts?" Chika repeated, one of his silver eye brows raised in question.

His partner had turned to him with a thoughtful look on his face, "I recall those very darts. I saw one of them with a dart in his shoulder." He looked over at Toko, "The same ones that the immortal used against us."

"Feh, you mean that shrimp we put behind bars?" Chika crossed his arms, then bursted, "Oh shit! His core was taken!"

"Thank you captain obvious," Toko rolled her eyes, earning another glare from Chika. She just sneered at him, and stuck out her tongue childishly. "Anyways, you'll find that we're safe for now. My seals should work against them for as long as we need."

"Okay, for starters, this is our territory." Chika chuckled, shooting them glares while also earning a pinch from Michiru, "Itai! Oi! There's no way I'm sharing my personal space with A-Loan! They can go on the main floor."

"Likewise, senpai." Shuji mumbled, blowing another bubble with his gum.

Shito pinched the bridge of his nose, "Setting boundaries is ideal, but we should also establish common grounds where we can meet in peace and share our discoveries."

"I suggest the common room," A new voice joined in. "It's really big and there aren't any sharp or blunt objects anywhere!"

The groups had found the girl leaning up against an open door down the hall, her voice echoing up at them. She had waved amiably and giggled at their dumbfounded look, especially A-Loan since they had supposedly been there before Z-Loan.

The key word being 'supposedly'.

Everyone had gathered inside the common room and sat in a circle on the floor. The room was empty, no desks or chairs, just the tiled floor. It was rather uncomfortable sitting there, their rears beginning to go numb already along with their legs. Even their backs were beginning to ache painfully and instead of just sitting in a circle, some decided to stand and lean against a wall instead.

They had soon come to discover that Koyomi had not come alone to the school. Lyca had sometime along her walk, joined her and they chose to investigate this place together. Though she claimed to have no memories of this and only remembered being back at the dorms one moment, then waking up here the next. It was Lyca who provided the details and they had come to realize that she must have been Yomi at the time.

"Koyomi-san's eyes were dark and her aura was different. Lyca could sense this," Lyca spoke smoothly. "Finally we hid in here while the creatures were out there, and Lyca watched Koyomi-san place a strange power on the door before she managed to pass out."

"How tiresome, we should have stayed home," Shuji half whined, leaning back against his hands to stare up at the ceiling. He ignored Toko's comment about his laziness and just listened to the tunes playing softly in his headphones.

The longhaired girl just cursed him and looked away stubbornly, staring adoringly at Zen who looked rather good looking in this light. She blushed at her thoughts and shook her head, bent on not acting like a schoolgirl for once in her life. She cleared her throat and looked at the two apparent original arrivals, "So this 'seal' you placed, it didn't exactly work if we were able to walk in here to check this room for any enemies."

Koyomi blinked wide eyed at her and nodded, "Ummm, that's a good question. But I don't remember how I even got here in the first place, so…"

"You had walked in here and left, as if you didn't see us." Lyca answered.

"Are you making fun of my skills?" Toko suddenly burst.

Chika chuckled, "Nice one Lyca!" He chuckled again at Toko's reaction.

"W-why you!" She got up from the floor, "Zen-kun! Do something!"

Zen looked up from his spot against the wall, "Eh? Don't listen to what the _old man_ is saying. He's just trying to piss you off."

"Old man? What the hell is with you calling me old man you _runt_!"

"That's 'senpai' to you!"

"Heh as if I'd ever be polite with you, pip squeak!"

"Akatsuki, calm down—"

"Go get him Zen-kunnn!!"

"…"

"…"

"Silence!" Michiru yelled, her tone positively frightful.

…

The room went deathly quiet.

"The only thing we can do now is wait for help. Until then, it may be best if we separate from here on. Remember the stairs are neutral grounds as well as this room." Michiru told them in a much calmer voice, eying everyone in the room sternly.

A-Loan had left without much of a fuss, seeing as Michiru was the most intimidating one in the room. Who would've ever guessed that the meek little Michiru-chan would turn into some all-powerful and scary thing? She could hardly believe it herself actually.

Turning to her companions, she nodded to them, "We need to think of a way out, and quickly." 'Or else Zarame-kun might tear apart this town to find me.'

"Uh, that could be a problem," Chika was now standing next to a window and pointing outside.

Everyone had huddled around the window to look out, equally stunned at the view they were staring at.

Shito had pushed away from the group with distaste, growling at their growing dilemma. He turned back to look at the others and noted Kita-san's equally mortified face until she too had backed away. "It seems we're trapped."

"If by trapped you mean standing inside a floating school in the middle of nothing but black space, then yeah. We're trapped." Chika-kun said, cursing under his breath.

-X-

Sotetsu arrived at the school site shortly after he picked up Shimotsuki. He had leaned the weight of his bike to one side, and placed it against his leg. He felt Shimotsuki climb off to take a look at the schoolyard while he turned off his bike and put the kickstand up.

Otsu was supposed to meet them here shortly with Undertaker-san in tow, something he found to be amusing. There was no way that silly funeral planner would be able to help them much considering how bad he was the previous night hunting with him. The frightful man could barely keep his eyes open let alone use his abilities. In the end, he had guided one zombie, except that he didn't know how he did it.

Shaking his head at the memory, he had walked up next to the small girl and scratched the back of his head out of habit while staring passed the gates. He let a low whistle sound out before speaking, "Well then, what now?"

Shimotsuki stared blankly at the empty space where the school once sat, and shook her head, "Now we must locate another entrance." She summoned her ring of keys to her hands, the metals all clanging loudly together.

"That's always fun," Sotetsu sighed in exasperation.

-X-

"Hmmm? So they're not fighting yet, are they? I guess I'll have to spice things up." The blond man chuckled, twirling the dart between his fingers perfectly.

The yellow clad woman standing next to him snorted, "You can hardly control those new powers of yours, I suggest you take things slow Shiba-kun."

"Slow? Ha! Since when have I ever been so cautious?" Shiba stood up from his seat and looked into the floating orb that was the school. "No, I need them to fight, to kill each other. The taste of betrayal is so sweet… I want to taste it… I want to see them all die…" He screeched with laughter.

Carmella just stared at him then down at the floating school. She pitied the fools in there that would now have to face Shiba like this. Though she knew they deserved it for imprisoning Chitose like they did. They deserved to suffer.

And they would.

She shuddered at the very thought of what Shiba had planned for them.

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**A/N So here's the chapter! Hoped you guys liked it. And again, sorry for the lateness and all the typos that are probably still hiding in there. If ya noticed, yeah the idea about the school and stuff came from the manga, but it'll definitely be different since that'd be boring if it were only to be like the manga. The next chapter will deal lots with a pissed off Zarame and a crazy Shiba and stuff. So tune in, and well R&R!!!**


	7. Reaper's Awakening

**Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N Ehehehehe.. It's been awhile, ne? Well here's a chapter!**

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 7. Reaper's Awakening**

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In moments, his once cozy and warm office had swiftly turned into the inside of a freezer. Deadly cold amethyst eyes were glaring furiously into his bored amber orbs, his gaze promising death to the Ferryman. In all of the years the Reaper had been around taking souls, not once had he ever gone as berserk as he was this very moment. No, that's a lie; if he remembered correctly there was one incident several thousand years ago when something similar had happened… But that could be saved and told another day.

Currently, the entire entity of the owner of the amethyst eyes screamed violent torture and death to all that opposed him, and the sheer amounts of power that were being effortlessly released from him could kill hundreds in one sweep.

Clearly he was not a happy camper.

Bekko-san had cleared his throat and proceeded to lean against his hand that was supported against his desk, "And how may I be of service to you today?" He asked tonelessly.

Zarame-sama snarled at the Ferryman and slammed his hands onto the desk, the entire thing turning into an ice cube the moment his bandaged fingers touched the surface. "As if you don't know, _Ferryman_," He spat the name as if it repulsed him. "It has been twenty four hours since the disappearance of your group. Since Michiru-chan has been gone. And you have all but lifted a finger to find them," He growled.

Said Ferryman had leaned back into his chair and sighed at his frozen desk. He had liked that desk, had handpicked it out himself… Looking up at the Reaper he had shaken his head and taken off his glasses, "My job is not to take care of them. Remember, they are the ones indebted to me. It's up to them and the other members of Z-Loan to locate the dimension they were taken to. All I am to do is collect their money until their debt is repaid," He explained.

"Tch," Zarame-sama had pushed off from the desk and regarded him with a darker look, "Your kind repulses me. Such foul, and greedy creatures you are, you Ferrymen. Those humans had placed their trust in you, and do your filthy work for you while you sit back, relax and enjoy the payments they make. Cheh, I had almost come to believe that you were different from the rest of those things. However now I see that I was wrong to think that." He had backed away from the desk and disappeared in an angry gust of black feathers, leaving a semi stunned Bekko-san behind.

"Well then, might as well call Yuuta-kun to clean this up…" He mumbled to himself after a very long pause. 'Interesting display of emotions, coming from a reaper I must say… I had not expected such a large outburst. Very interesting…' He thought to himself, a slow, cunning smile forming on his lips.

-X-

"…_In recent news, strange weather anomalies have been occurring all around Tokyo. Instead of our beautiful hot weather, there have been reports of several feet of snow to come on top of the foot of snow that has already gathered. Scientists are baffle at the cause of this…."_

Looking outside, the red hair man had frowned, swallowing the last bit of food in his bowl. Taking out a toothpick he began to chew on it and pick at his teeth while he waited for his partner to finish her meal. "Looks like somebody's pretty pissed off," He remarked. "I should have brought a jacket."

"Sotetsu, mind your manners. Zarame-sama has just lost sight of his loved one. I too am very displeased and frustrated with our predicament. I am worried for our friends and Lyca's safety," The younger looking girl replied, using her napkin to politely clean her mouth. "This meal will be paid by me," She said, turning to grab a waiters attention to ask for the bill.

"Ya sure about that Shimotsuki-san? 'Cause I ordered a lot!" Sotetsu chuckled, taping his stomach with satisfaction.

She eyed him and ignored his comment, "I may be able to locate where the others are if I open the correct doorway with my powers. However it would take several tries before I find the doorway to their dimension."

Sotetsu shrugged, "Alright, while you do that I guess I'll keep an eye out on the school. Seeing as no ones noticed that the thing is gone along with a good amount of students. I'll try to make sure nothing bad happens."

Shimotsuki had paid the bill and proceeded to scoot out from her seat and walk towards the doors, Sotetsu right behind her. There was already a limo waiting for her outside while Sotetsu's motorcycle sat further down the block parked. She had nodded to him and trudged through the snow, the driver already next to the door to let her in. Once inside, the door was closed and she had rolled down her window, "Are you sure you don't require a lift from me?"

He grinned at her, chuckling softly, "Nah, my baby's been through worse weather conditions. I may get a little chilli, but I'll survive." With one last wave goodbye they separated to do their own tasks. 'Damn though, I can't believe how crazy that Reaper is getting. He's causing such a ruckus with all this snow, and the fact that it's only happening in Tokyo is even worse.' He stuffed his hands in his pockets, eyeing some of the women that passed him and shooting them winks. 'I hope we find the others soon, before hell completely freezes over.'

-X-

He observed the city from the rooftop of the tallest building, his demonic aura winds tossing back his black cloak smoothly. He clenched his fists and glared out across the town and cursed himself silently for being so reckless. However this wasn't his fault, it was the enemy, the enemy he needed to kill. They were the ones who took her away from him, hid her away in some dimension he couldn't find. 'Nothing is final yet. I know she still lives, and I will find her. If I have to tear apart every world, I will.' Zarame thought viciously, his form glowing purple.

The once gentle snowfall had started to twist into a blizzard. The sky had darkened over with black clouds and mist rolled in with the snow, causing the worst storm Tokyo had ever seen. A true anomaly for the humans to attempt to understand.

Standing from his position he had turned around and opened a new gateway, attempting once again to locate her. 'I will find you, my Michiru-chan.' He thought as he entered the dark hole, transferring himself to the next world.

He opened his yes to find himself inside a cart. Looking around he noted that he was inside a train cart, one to cart the minds of people and zombie's to other strings of dimensions. Grunting, he took a seat to compose himself and think. One way or another, the logical thing for them to do was get on this train and from there he could get everyone out. Except that he didn't know if they even knew of this existing way of traveling, which got him ever more irritated.

"Ticket's please."

Looking up coolly at the ticket collector he had snorted, "Koume." He acknowledged.

The little girl with an oversized uniform had looked blankly at Zarame before nodding, "Zarame-sama, you have a core now."

"And I take it you lost your job a long time ago," He replied. Crossing his arms, he had breathed a shaky sigh, "Have you seen any of the Z-Loan members around?"

Tilting her head to the side, her eyes stared blankly at him while her thoughts processed, "No, I haven't seen anyone. You're the only one right now on this train too." She replied tonelessly.

"Fine," He stood up and readied himself to leave.

"Oh, but there was a strange waver not too long ago," She had placed a finger on her chin and nodded, "I think a new world was squeezed in between two strings of dimensions. But I'm not sure…" She looked up at him and was taken back slightly by the look he was giving her. Looking down she noticed that ice had formed around him and coated the floor of the train. "………"

Zarame had regarded her with a deadly look of determination and had nodded his thanks to her, "I may return here. If any Z-Loan members do appear, don't loose them, understand?"

She still stared at the ice with awe, "I can't let anyone stay on the train without tickets, only Shinigami can use this for free."

"Humph," He had turned away from her and entered his portal, transporting himself off the train.

Still looking at the ice, she had mumbled, "…I need salt."

-X-

Somewhere in the dark abyss, there floated a school with eight trapped people inside. None of them could tell how much time was going by since all the school clocks were frozen, worst of all though, they were all desperately hungry. Chika being the loudest in expressing this matter had decided to go and search around for food with hopes of locating one of the vending machines. Thought Lyca had already told him that he couldn't sniff out anything, so the chances of vending machines being around were slim to none.

This hadn't stopped Chika from leaving to investigate anyways.

"Moron," Koyomi muttered with a pout, turning to look at Michiru. "I'm bored, can't we figure some way out of here?"

"As far as we know there is no way out. All we can do is wait for help," That was Shito's voice of reason for ya. Still standing against the wall, his arms crossed and his eyes shut.

Michiru had smiled weakly at them, feeling a strange form of dizziness begin to overtake her. Staring down at her bandaged fingers she found that maybe the reasons behind this light headed effect was because of her overuse of power. She had never had his happen before so she wasn't sure, however that didn't stop her from changing back into her normal school-uniformed-glasses self. "Shito-kun is right, I don't know how to go through other dimensions yet and if we take a step outside we will be-be attacke—" Her words were beginning to slur, her vision becoming blurred.

Shito's eyes had snapped open the moment her words had come out uneven. He had been the first to notice the strange look in her eyes before Koyomi had swooped next to her friend in time to catch her.

"A-Ah! Michiru-chan! Michiru-chan!" Koyomi repeated worriedly, gently shaking her shoulders. She had felt Shito come over as well as Lyca approach, continuing to shake her friend who had for some reason fallen unconscious. "H-how did this happen? All she did was stand by the window and watch!" She shrieked.

Shito had kneeled next to his unconscious friend and touched her forehead, "No fever, no signs of other illnesses…" He mumbled to himself, looking up at the window in thought. "Perhaps," He voiced. "The one who brought us here has done something to her? The ones outside have darts in them. Its possible he found someway around all the seals and shot Michiru with a dart."

"I believe you are correct… It appears her mind has been sealed away in a dark memory of the past," A new voice whispered.

"_Yomi_?" Shito stared at the girl wearily, "I see you have come out due to her condition." He glanced back down to the lilac haired girl worriedly.

Yomi's shadowed eyes looked onto Michiru intensely, "Yes, I am concerned for… Chiru-Chiru… I believe the one responsible for sending us here has locked her away in order to lower our attack strength. She is the strongest here, after all." She explained.

"Without Kita-san, will the seals keep holding up?" Shito asked seriously.

Yomi shook her head, "There's no telling if her seals will remain. They may very well break, or may stay as they are. I would stay close either way as a precaution." She gloomily looked towards the doors of the room, "For now, we need to return Michiu-chan's mind to the proper state in order for her body to find her again."

"What do you mean—" Shito's sentence went unfinished when Chika had barrelled through the doors of the classroom. Holding back a growl he had just settled for glaring darkly at his partner and his annoyingly loud voice.

"There's no goddamn food in this god-forsaken-piece-of-crap—" He amber eyes landed themselves on the collapsed Michiru, "What the hell happened here?! What's wrong with her?!" He had pushed himself through Lyca and Shito to get a better look at her pale form, "Why does she look so still? What did you do while I was go—"

_TWACK_

"A-Aiiiee!" Chika now cared for the new lump on his head, "What the hell didja do that for, Shit-Shito!" He seethed.

"You were being annoying," Shito muttered back, brushing stray locks of hair away from Michiru's pale face.

Yomi sighed silently, exchanging impatient looks with Lyca before glaring at other Z-Loan boys, "Listen carefully, I will only say this once." Drawing their attention she had announced her plan to return Michiru to consciousness.

-X-

"This place, it's very dark. Are you positive we're in the correct world?"

Yomi looked over her shoulder to the blue haired man, "Yes, this is Michiru's conscience. What we need to do now is search for the correct memory she has been locked in, and set her free of it."

The two floated in the centre of darkness, nothing was around them except for some orbs of light every now and then surrounded by loose chains. Together, they had drifted passed all of Michiru's memories in search of her while being bound wrist to wrist with a paper seal. This seal had been placed on them by Yomi before they had drifted into Michiru's mind, much to Chika's protest, Yomi had chosen Shito to go with her and left Lyca and Chika to protect their bodies on the outside.

"I imagine this will take some time to sift through," Shito mumbled.

"Hai—" Yomi gasped, staring down in alarm at their once bound wrists. "Oh no, the connection—"

-X-

Chika cursed under his breath, looking back at the torn seal that ran from one wrist to another overtop of Michiru. 'Sh-shit!' His eyes drifted back to those of the emotionless Zen, their blades locked together in a battle to over throw the other. 'What do I do now?'

_-Flash-_

_"Under no circumstances must this bracelet be severed. Understand?" Yomi sternly stated, eyeing Chika with her darkest glare._

_The silver haired boy shivered and looked away from her, "Cheh! What do ya take me for, a moron? Of course the stupid thing won't get touched, it's not like I can't protect something as simple as a piece of paper." He looked over to her again, but found that she and Shito-kun had already passed out and begun their mission. "Eh?" He growled and stood up, "What the hell! You couldn't wait to go until I was done talking?! Jeez!" He crossed his arms over his chest in a huff. He could feel someone's eyes on him and shot glares at the owner, "What are you lookin' at?!"_

_Lyca snorted and shook his head, "…You are childish…"_

_-Flash-_

'I don't know what'll happen now, but I hope it isn't anything too serious..' He pushed back against Zen and swiped at him.

Zen had leapt back before the katana could touch him.

"Zen-kun!" Toko cried, "Don't hurt him! He doesn't know--! Someone's doing this to him!" Toko screeched in horror. She didn't know how it happened, but her team mates had suddenly just lost it while they were all standing downstairs in a classroom. One moment she had been talking with Zen, and the next he had drawn his weapons and left with Shuji, leaving her behind in the room. By the time she had found them, Zen had already started fighting with Akatsuki. And when she had tried to separate them, a strong Shuji had grabbed her and held her back.

"Let me _go_!"

Lyca had growled at Shuji viciously, circling the male just as he circled him with his hostage. Luckily the taller male hadn't taken out his machine gun yet, but he feared that it would be happening any moment now, so he needed to act quickly. Feeling a rush of strength through him, golden light began to wrap around his form, his amber slit eyes also beginning to shimmer. Letting out a snarl he had leapt forward and swiped his newly formed claws at Shuji, the same golden light that was wrapped around him appearing as he clawed at Shuji's arms.

Toko had of course yelped and was released soon after, since Shuji now had bleeding arms to tend with. She had scooted away and positioned herself so that she was sitting next to the unconscious people in the room. Shaking with fright, her eyes began to water as she watched her A-Loan team members fight against Z-Loan without much control over themselves. She could see that Zen was bleeding as well along his chest and Chika possessed a deep cut in his shoulder.

"This is horrible, what's going on? Why won't they stop!" Toko cried, hot tears pouring uncontrollably from her eyes.

"E-eh, what's with the waterworks?" A tired voice asked.

Toko looked over to the side, blurry eyed she could make out Koyomi's sitting figure, "Y-you're awake! Pl-please use y-your magic to do so-someth-thing!" She hiccupped.

Koyomi looked around herself dully and then down at her wrist, "Ano…" She closed her eyes and waited for it, waited for that voice to pipe up and say something. Anything. A remark about how disgusting men are, or how annoying this bumbling girl was. But nothing, she couldn't feel anything, "Ah.. I can't."

The pigtailed girl sniffled loudly and all but shouted, "Wh-what?! Why not! J-just because we're A-Loan—"

Koyomi growled, "Stop crying! That won't help anything!" She was really beginning to get frustrated. Not only was her other self gone, but also this girl was acting like a spoiled five year old. When the girl had gasped Koyomi had proceeded to look away and try to figure out a way to help, "Look, I don't have my other half anymore. The best I can do is maybe put them to sleep, but even then, I might accidentally purify them." She ripped off the remainder of the seal on her wrist and tossed it aside, the thing burning up before it touched the floor.

"K-Koyomi! Is the Gopher back?!" She heard Akatsuki struggle to ask.

Looking over to the sleeping Michiru and Shito she had cursed, "No, the seal was broken baka! Now Shito is trapped where she is!" She replied in a huffed, shooting glares at his back before observing the other two fighting figures.

Chika had shoved Zen away again and knock one of his blades out of his hands, "Great, now what are we supposed to do?!"

The usual cheerful Koyomi just sat and tried her best to think of a solution to this problem. Just one little solution… Anything… She pinched the bridge of her nose and thought hard, 'A seal..' She thought, looking up she had narrowed her eyes at the A-Loan members, "Try to push them out of here! If you do that I can seal the door and keep them away."

Chika had snorted, "Yeah, no problem." He remarked sarcastically.

-X-

"Yomi-san! Yomi-san!" Shito shouted into the black world, only to have his voice fade into the darkness. She had just suddenly drifted away from him the moment the seal had been cut. He couldn't even catch a glimpse of her body anywhere as he continued to glide passed all the memories of the lilac haired girl. Forcefully turning his body around, he looked forward to where his body was drifting. He grit his teeth and silently cursed his moronic partner for being so stupid.

Honestly, how difficult was it to guard a piece of paper?

'That fool most likely destroyed the bond himself…' He even thought, "Akatsuki when I return you are going to get shot…" He promised with a growl, his eyes continuously darting around for any signs of Kita-san. He had soon come to discover that the further back he travelled, the further her memories of the past were. He kept catching glimpses of Michiru at different ages, and gradually looking younger with every memory he passed.

By the time he had reached the heavily guarded memory, he had discovered that after all the searching he had done, he had only gone back as far as a year and a half. 'To think that there is such thing as this many memoirs.' He thought, looking around nervously at all the floating orbs.

Returning his attention to the one before him, he had evaluated his situation. The amount of chains that were visibly wrapped around this memory were so knotted that he thought he'd never be able to get through. 'Clearly, this is something very painful.' Struggling against them, he had forcefully shoved himself into her thoughts, and found himself standing behind a fourteen year old Michiru dressed in black.

It was pouring rain all around them, and he could clearly make out that she was holding a flower. If he was correct, then this was the funeral of her parents.

"O-Oto-san… O-okaa-san…" She mumbled dully.

He had visibly saddened when the sound of her broken voice had floated to his ears. She looked like a lost child in this rain. What was worse was all the pain that shone in her eyes, all the guilt. He didn't quite understand why he could see guilt in her, only that he knew it was there. Maybe she thought that their death was due to her? A ridiculous thought, yes, but if he was right, and she thought that their death was her fault, then that would be the reason why this was her most chained memory.

'Her heart is very delicate at the moment, I feel as though one false move and she'll shatter into thousands of pieces.' He thought, approaching her slowly.

"Kita-san," He called softly, not earning the least bit of interest from her. Though her eyes were filled with tears and they shed uncontrollably for her parents. Sighing, he had removed a handkerchief from his pocket and began to dab her cheeks softly with the cloth, "Kita-san," He tried again. "You must realise that you have been sent here. You don't belong here."

Reasoning with this girl was not getting him anywhere. She only shook her head, harsh hiccups racking through her with her constant sobs. She still didn't look at him, her mournful olive eyes only staring at the coffins of the deceased.

"Oto-san… O-okaa-san…" She repeated again, "My fault… M-my…" She dropped her flower to grip her black dress. She twisted the material painfully around her fingers and hiccupped again.

'So I am correct. This girl blames herself for their deaths. Forever trapped in this guilt.'

"Michiru."

He had surprised himself when he had spoken her name so softly, but in the end it did have the needed effect. She had looked up at him, her pleading look for help causing an odd feeling to rush through him. Maybe it was compassion? All he knew was that the next thing that happened, she was in his arms, crying her eyes out. He didn't have much experience when it came to comforting people, but he recalled that returning an embrace was always a good start. 'If the Shinigami were to catch me like this, I'm sure he'd be furious.' He thought to himself as he patted her head awkwardly.

"It will be alright, Michiru."

"N-No! Th-they died because of me! I killed them! Th-the black rin-rings—" She stuttered.

"No," He interrupted, pulling her away from his form, "You must listen to me, humans live, and humans die. That is the way of life. It was their time, but it isn't yours. You have someone who cares about you more than anything." Even as he said this, he could feel the rain pouring harder against them. That's when he noticed that the worse the rain became, the worse Michiru got.

Just when she had begun to warm up to him, she had pulled away and returned to where she was, holding the flower and whispering for her parents.

Cursing under his breath, he had reached a hand out to touch her, but her form had passed through his hands. Oddly enough, the entire scene around him seemed to be flickering, like a TV channel losing reception. Only instead of just flickering to snow, it looked as if another scene was mixing with it. Almost as if two channels were overlapping, half of it was Michiru's funeral memory, and the other half was a blur of darkness with a single figure illuminated within it.

If he didn't know any better, he'd say that this was some form of past life memory, but he couldn't be sure. All he knew was that the figure that battled against Michiru's memorial memory was glowing faintly, and her eyes… They were the same dull, olive eyes that Michiru had. So sad, so full of guilt and betrayal.

"What is this…?"

_"Onii-sama… how could you…"_

'Onii-sama? What kind of memory is this?' Shito thought.

Her voice sounded just as broken as Michiru's, if not than worse. Pity, because from the looks of it, she probably had the most beautiful voice. 'What is this? Where is she?' He tried to look for clues as to what this was, but before he could attempt to solve this riddle, the scene around him had completely flickered back to the funeral.

Shaking his head, he decided that he could figure things out later. Right now he just needed to get Michiru out of here before things got out of hand. Turning back to her he had grasped her shoulders and shaken her a bit roughly to grab her attention. Despite the rainfall around them worsening, Michiru had actually looked up at him and acknowledge his presence.

"Michiru! You must wake up!"

"Who are you." It was a statement more than a question. And even though her body was shaking, and her tears were pouring uncontrollably, her voice had come out steady, and lifeless.

"You know who I am! Tachibana Shito, indebted to Z-Loan. You are Kita Michiru, Akatsuki Chika's Gopher and girlfriend of that damnable Shinigami, Zarame-sama." He shouted at her, gripping her shoulders a bit more tightly, "You _must_ remember!"

"Ah ah ah, now that isn't _fun_."

Shito had gasped and turned around, only to find the most dreaded person alive, or rather dead, standing unceremoniously on top of the coffins, leaning against a tall scythe. Narrowing his eyes he had formed his pistol and pointed it at the man without a second thought.

"Shiba," He spat, pulling back the safety latch on his pistol.

He had on a mock face of shock before smiling darkly at Shito and waving, "Hello to you too Shito-kuuun," He purred. "You know, I half expected Chika-kun to be coming… Not you."

"Ch, you can go rot in hell you bastard." He growled, shooting his first bullet at the man. Of course he had moved out of the way of the ectoplasm bullet swiftly, practically having done it without breaking a sweat.

Appearing behind Michiru, he had chuckled softly and grasped one of her shoulders, forcing her to turn around and face him, "Now now, play nice or the girl just might have to die." He had wrapped the curved blade around her neck and looked up at Shito evilly.

Shito had turned around and shot glares at Shiba, lowering his pistol slightly, "Get away from her."

"Hm, you know after all of my hard work to get her here in the first place, I don't think I will." Looking down at her, a sly grin had broken across his face. "I also happen to have the perfect plan to annihilate her, unfortunately though it doesn't involve you.. So you have no choice but to leave." With a wave of his palm, Shito had been forcefully kicked out of the memory.

The blue haired man stared in horror at the distancing figures and out of desperation gave one last shout for Michiru's attention. The best reaction he got had been a dull look from her before he was pushed completely out of the memory. Floating in the darkness yet again, he had attempted to return to the rainy funeral, except that upon touching the masses of chains, his hands would get shocked. Pulling back sharply, he had winced and tried to peek into the memory, catching small glimpses of Shiba talking sadistically to her.

"Michiru! Michiru-san! Wake up!"

His eyes widened when he could see Shiba raising his scythe, a long smile plastering across his lips.

"Michiru-san! Mi-chi-_ruuuu_!"

-X-

"God damn!" Chika cursed, shoving Zen away yet again, "There's just no way to keep these guys in one spot! They won't stop." He leaned forward, panting heavily from exhaustion, "I-I can barely keep my blade from dematerializing…" He braced himself as he watched Zen run at him again with his sword. Chika was glad he had been able to take out at least one sword, otherwise he would have been done in a long time ago.

Wincing, he felt the sword pierce his other arm, giving him a clean cut across his right arm. He grunted when their blades clashed and tried to keep himself at least even against him, pushing against his blade with all of his strength. He half wondered if this was Zen full strength or not, considering his facial features hadn't changed one bit from the time they began their duel. Looking over, he briefly caught Lyca dodging Shuji and his ectoplasm bullets from his machine gun. 'Shit, even the lycanthrope won't be able to dodge forever..' He looked around some more and found Toko merely watching in horror while Koyomi was—what was she doing?

Gasping, he felt the strain that Zen was putting on his body increase. Turning his attention back to his own fight he noticed that Zen's facial features went from emotionless to completely darkened and all out pissed off. 'Mother of…' "Koyomi! What the hell are you doing!!"

He was surprised to hear Toko reply for her, yelling at him to shut up and let the girl concentrate. He honestly thought Toko wasn't doing anything productive, but he supposed he was wrong. Maybe the girl was protecting Koyomi or something, which brought up the question again of what the woman was doing. Gritting his teeth, he could taste blood and spat it out, wanting to wipe his cut lip with the back of his hand, but resisting to do so.

"What ever… you're doing… do it faster!!"

Lyca roared and dodged Shuji's bullets for the most part. His chest had taken a few hits, but he could already feel the wounds healing themselves. Baring his fangs he had rounded Shuji and tackled him to the floor, biting his wrist to make him drop the gun at his side. Blood now dripping from his mouth, he growled and knocked the gun away from Shuji.

A strange symbol had appeared on the blue haired mans shortly after, and once completely illuminated, the A-Loan member had ceased to move and closed his eyes. Cautiously, he had stepped away from the body and looked over at Akatsuki, finding that Zen had also collapsed with the same mark on his forehead growing brightly.

"Everyone, hurry up and leave the room… I've temporarily sealed their bodies movements…" Koyomi spoke softly, opening her eyes weakly to look at them. "Basically putting them to sleep."

"Wait! Didn't you say you could have accidentally purified them by doing this thing?" Toko asked, mildly peeved.

Koyomi shrugged, "What choice did I have?"

"Humph!" Toko had crossed her arms and shot glares at the other girl.

Lyca had moved towards Koyomi and Toko, the golden glow from his body dying down as he stood on his feet. Thought despite that, he still looked positively demonic with the blood that coated itself around him mouth. Glancing at Toko, he had walked passed her and into the hallway of the school. He dully listened to Chika complaining to Koyomi about how slow she was at doing her seal and asking her how she was able to do it in the first place. Deciding that he didn't need to know any of this, he had tuned them out and just stared at the other end of the hallway.

The end of his nose had twitched as a familiar scent had wafted to his senses.

"Shimotsuki-san..." He had drifted away towards the scent, something that had gone unnoticed by the others.

By the time Chika had finished rambling and yelling at Koyomi, he had felt an incredibly freezing cold shiver run up his spine. This feeling had been one that he was used to in the past, but he had never felt it be this damn cold before. Looking over to Toko and Koyomi, he had noticed that they were looking past him in a bit of a frightful way. So turning cautiously, he had frozen up himself in awe when he too stared at the Shinigami towering above Michiru's laid out body.

Oh yes, Zarame-sama was now here.

And was he ever pissed.

He got here what, roughly thirty seconds ago?

Well in those thirty seconds, the entire corner of the room where he stood had coated messily with heavy layers of ice, some of which had travelled to Zen collapsed not too far away. However none of it touched Michiru, instead it melted and evaporated before coming into contact with any part of her body.

'Well, this gives a slight new meaning to hell freezing over..' Chika thought, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"What happened here?" His voice was so deep, that Chika knew he was trying his best to restrain himself from bursting out and pretty much killing every zombie around.

"W-we don't know. She had been fine one moment, then shortly after she had changed back into a student, she had collapsed." Koyomi had answered softly.

He had clenched his fists, kneeling next to Michiru's body. His hair covered most of his facial features at the moment, so the others couldn't see his eyes softening upon setting themselves on her peaceful face. Nor could they see how distraught and sad he was to see her like this, so unmoving, almost like she was…she was… touching her cheek, he had been relieved to find it still warm. "And these allies, why are their bodies sealed, miko?"

"M-miko?" Chika looked back at Koyomi suddenly, "You're a priestess?!"

Koyomi ignored Chika, "We think they got hit with darts, and were brain washed. They started to attack us so we had to stop them without hurting them."

Zarame snorted, looking over the paper seal was still partly attached to Shito's wrist, "Judging by this enchanted bracelet, you were trying to help her, but it had been cut and the connection broken…" He looked back at the two A-Loan members on the floor, the temperature in the room dropping even more, "_I would have killed them._"

"Yeah well, we aren't you. Even if these losers are our enemies, they don't deserve to be killed," Chika replied, feeling Toko grasp his wrist and give him a squeeze. She was thankful, he guessed, for having taken her side of things.

Zarame had looked up at them and glared, hard, "Leave now. I will take care of Michiru."

"Cheh, and how to we do that! If ya haven't noticed, we don't—"

"I believe I can be of service."

The three had turned around to find Lyca, thankfully without any more bloodstains around his mouth, standing next to Shimotsuki. Gaping, Chika had looked down at her, and up at Lyca, then back down before shaking his head and looking back at the Reaper. "Fine, so we have our way out, but what about the others. You don't really expect me to just leave my partners behind or these A-Loans guys."

Zarame had shaken his head, "I won't touch those filthy vermin… As for their bodies, their minds have been taken away, much like Michiru's, to another place. Once they realize that they are in another realm, their bodies will find them and they will be able to return to the train."

"They are not very aware of these realms, Zarame-sama. I implore that you help them as well during your journey to return Michiru-san and Shito-san's minds." Shimotsuki asked.

The Reaper stayed motionless for some time before nodding, "Fine." He had looked down at his beloved and stroked her cheek again, 'Only because you would ask the same…'

"Then we shall take our leave before they awaken." Shimotsuki had walked passed them, into the room and up to a wall. Taking out a piece of chalk, she had drawn what looked like a door that was about her height. Finishing off the drawing with a doorknob and key hole, she had placed the chalk away and taken out her ring of keys. In a flash of light, one of her keys had gone into the drawn hole and unlocked the door, the thing magically opening and glowing. Stepping back she had motioned for everyone to go through, "This will take us out of this trapped world."

Lyca had been the first to respond to her command and had crouched down to the small door and entered. Toko had spared her friends one last glance before also going through followed by Koyomi. Chika had given Zarame a look and grinned weakly, "You get her back to us, alright Reaper? And try not to forget about the prick."

Zarame had surprisingly returned the grin, "Of course."

Chika had left, leaving only Shimotsuki to nod at the Shinigami curtly before she too went through the door, the thing locking behind her as she passed.

Looking down at Michiru again, Zarame had placed his fingers on her forehead and closed his eyes. This was as good as any place to start looking for her. So concentrating, he had used his powers and dematerialized, leaving a few black feathers behind on her body.

-X-

"Hm, now where were we? Oh yes, your parent's funeral." Shiba chimed, "You know that they would still be living if it weren't for you, right Michiru-chan?" As he spoke this he took in all of the rain that drenched them with open arms, enjoying the feeling of victory. She was getting worse, falling deeper and deeper into the pit of despair he had tossed her into.

"Don't you understand? If you had known of your oh-so-powerful abilities, you could have protected them. Even more.. You probably could have stopped the Shinigami from taking them."

"You know that it's his job to reap souls, don't you? So basically, you murdered your parents with the help of your boyfriend. Don't you just make the greatest couple?" He purred, stroking her cheek with his hand.

"Okaa-san… Oto-san…" Michiru mumbled, her tear stained face and red eyes proof of her immense sorrow and guilt. "I… I…"

"You can let it all go now. You can even join them…" Shiba lifted his scythe slowly, "You can see them again, if you die."

_"…see them again, if you die…" _

"…_humans live, and humans die. That is the way of life…"_

"…_murdered your parents with the help of your boyfriend…" _

"…_You have someone who cares about you more than anything…"_

_"…see them again, if you die…"_

_"…if you die…"_

_"…Tachibana Shito…Akatsuki Chika's 'Gopher'… Girlfriend of that damnable Shinigami, Zarame-sama…"_

"Zara-kun…" She mumbled, touching her forehead. Her head, it hurt so much right now, she felt so weak… Why was she feeling so drowsy and weak?

Shiba frowned, noticing the rain beginning to let up. Gripping his scythe even more tightly he decided that it was now or never, and swung it down to take her head and finally rid himself of this pathetic girl. Only…

Only a golden arrow had pierced his blade before it could even touch a hair on Michiru's neck. Just as Michiru had collapsed, hugging herself and groaning in pain, the blade of his scythe had cracked, small parts chipping away as the golden arrow continued to sink into the blade. "What the hell is this?" He growled, looking up at the newcomer with hatred.

There was a woman, though her form seemed slightly transparent. She still stood strong, her golden bow sparkling as brightly as her arrow in his blade. Her face was unmoving, her pale green eyes boring holes into him, "Leave this place, you false Reaper."

Shiba snorted, shifting so that he stood tall and held his weapon at his side arrogantly, "I am the Reaper, you bitch."

-

"…_I will protect you with my life…"_

"Zara-kun.." Michiru gasped, trying to fight against this feeling of drowsiness.

-

"Wrong," She spoke, pulling her bow string back, another golden arrow materializing, "You are but a shadow. A being that is not of any world but that of the dead. You have no life, you are nothing but a corpse with power. You, boy, are no Reaper." She pulled the string taught and let her arrow fly at him.

He had deflected it with his scythe, both arrows cancelling each other out once they touched. He chuckled, "Who do you think you are? You can't tell me who I am!" He shrieked, "So why don't you shove it where the sun don't shine.."

-

"…_no matter what, I will protect you with my life…" _

"Zara-me…" Michiru sniffled, clutching her head even more tightly. She was just so confused, and couldn't tell what was real from what was from the past. Looking up, she had caught a glimpse of a black feather gently falling, until it had landed on the ground in front of her. Gasping in pain, she had observed the feather until a light purple glow began to be emitted from it.

-

The woman had surprisingly smiled bitterly, "There is no such place for me where the light is not present." She had looked over at Michiru, and then back at Shiba, "I suppose a being of your calibre couldn't even fathom what I am and what I can do to filth such as yourself." Her inky black, long locks of hair gently blew around her, her form completely untouched by the rain in the memory. Pulling back her bowstring yet again she had glared at Shiba, "This is where you leave…" Though before she could let her arrow fly, her figure had shimmered, and begun to shift.

It was like before, how the memories were shifting from one another and melding together, except that it was happening to this woman. She had cursed under her breath and given Shiba one last look before she had been completely taken away from the memory and sent back to wherever she had come from.

Shiba had taken a step back and sighed, "To think that she had me almost quivering in my boots."

_-Flash-_

_Sitting on the edge of a cliff, they stared at the dunes of sand that rested below them. Above them the sky was littered with millions of stars and two glowing moons. Generally after a long day of training, she'd come and sit here by herself while Zarame-kun went to get her some food. However this time, he had joined her, and this time he had kept himself close to her and linked his hand with hers._

_"Michiru-chan.." He spoke in that deep, scratchy tone of his._

_God she loved his voice, and she loved how close they had been getting. She loved how comforting he could be and how kind he was to her. These were all qualities she had never suspected of finding in a man like him, no in a Reaper. Yet here they were, having been dating for a year in this world. Sure he wasn't your average boyfriend, and was even emotionally retarded during some moments, but he was learning._

_The thing was, he was probably never treated like a human before, let alone like a lover. Or so she believed anyways. So of course he still struggled with expressing emotions. The one thing he didn't lack experience in, surprisingly, was the physical factor. One single touch of his fingers on her skin had her trembling under him. Each time they touched she felt like she was under a spell. 'Hopefully it's the same with him when I touch him.' Michiru thought as she squeezed his hand gently._

_"W-what is it, Zarame-kun?" She asked shyly, looking up at the moons as opposed to being mesmerized by his amethyst eyes._

"_I just wanted to thank you." He spoke evenly, watching her from the corner of his eyes for any reactions._

_"Th-thank me? But f-for what?" Michiru had made the mistake of looking at him, and instantly regretted it since she knew that now she wouldn't be able to look away. Not while he was like this._

_He had rubbed his thumb over hers gently and smiled a little, "For coming here, for tolerating me, and for accepting me as I am. I am in your debt for all of this."_

_Michiru had smiled, "You don't owe me anything. You're training me remember? So I'm the one that owes you! B-besides, I really do love being with you, I can't imagine not being around you." She giggled, a tinge of blush coating her cheeks._

_Zarame had turned to fully look at her, small traces of shock on his face until a little, sexy grin a formed across his lips, "Good, because now that you have me, I'm afraid there is no way of getting rid of me. I won't let anyone take away the woman I love, I swear it." He had shifted closer to her and run his free-bandaged hand over her warm cheek, "And especially, no matter what, I will protect you with my life… Michiru-chan."_

_That had been the first time he had said he loved her. _

_Smiling in content she had let him lean in closer and shared a hungry kiss with him. Oh yes, she could get used to being with him forever. _

_-Flash-  
_  
Opening her eyes, she had glared at the muddied ground. Her hair had shortened and her clothing changed as the real Michiru woke up from the spell. So, Shiba thought he could pull a fast one on her, huh? Looking up, she had growled in a very animalistic way, not at all happy with him. Though she had been caught by surprise when she found that he was already busy with someone else. Someone she had been longing to see.

Someone who was turning her memory into a Popsicle!

"Zara-kun!" She stood up, and squeaked feeling how wobbly her legs were.

Turning slightly, Zarame had shot a brief look to her, visibly settling down before returning to fight Shiba.

Pouting, Michiru had placed her hands on her hips and scowled at them, "This is my memory! My mind. So you had better leave right now Shiba-kun!" She yelled, happy to see that whatever little control on her mind that he had was gone, and she had officially kicked him out. When she was sure the man was completely gone, she had let her guard down slightly and looked over at Zarame. Relief had washed over her in waves when he had practically crushed her in a hug.

"Zara-kun…" She could feel the struggle he had gone through to find her, all the hardships and the relief that he now felt. She had missed him so much, and had hugged him back just as fiercely. She dug her face into his chest and sighed in content, not noticing the chains surrounding her haunting memory finally loosening and floating around them just as every other chain would.

Running his hands along her back and through her hair, he had frantically checked her for any injuries. Reluctantly pulling away from her, he had looked over her front and finished his examination when he found nothing to be wrong with her.

With a mental nod of approval he had then proceeded to kiss her as passionately as he could. Groaning when she kissed him back just as much and even went as far as deepening it by allowing him to slip his tongue into her cavern to explore her, and dominate her. He had lowered his hands, hugging her every curve until he pulled her closer to him.

'Michiru...'

She had wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked herself closer to him, digging her fingers through his messy red hair. She moaned when she could feel his wet appendage dancing with hers, separating from him only for the sake of breathing before feeling him kiss and nip his way around her jaw and down to her neck. She held back another moan when she felt him kiss her neck roughly, even biting her lightly, causing her to shiver with pleasure. "Zarame..."

"As touching as this is, I would very much like to leave this place." Shito bluntly mentioned, floating just outside the chains with a clear view inside of them and their activities.

Pulling away from Zarame quickly, Michiru blushed until her entire face turned a dark shade of crimson. Looking at Shito she had squeaked and gaped, finally hiding herself behind Zarame in pure mortification. She couldn't believe Shito had just witnessed that, and if he hadn't said anything… She was sure things would have proceeded further. "Sh-Shito-k-kun.." She managed to mumble.

Zarame on the other hand seemed quite pleased with himself despite the interruption and even smirked cockily at Shito, "Fine, I know the quickest way out of here." He had linked his fingers with Michiru's and pushed them off the ground and out of the funeral memory to enter the darkness where Shito floated. Reaching out with his other hand, Zarame had none too gently grabbed Shito by the scruff of his collar and in a shimmer, they had left Michiru's mind.

When Michiru had opened her eyes, she had found herself standing in front of her friends. Before she could even get a word out, she had been mulled by a happy Koyomi and yelled at by Chika for being so stupid. In the midst of everything, she hadn't noticed that they had been transported to a train until she had noticed other passengers aboard the thing.

There were some other teenaged boys, dressed in what looked like black hakamas, haories, and finally cloaks. Looking over them, she had earned some flirty smirks and winks until they had looked over and seen her boyfriend glaring daggers at them. "Z-Zara-kun, where are we?"

To answer her question he had turned, "This is a train that travels through strings of dimensions. It helps to collect lost souls and minds, as well as now transporting the new temporary shinigami to their appropriate locations." He sent the boys another round of glares, "They are among the other new recruits sent to do my bidding until my mission is completed."

"Now that you guys are back, do you mind fetching my team mates now? I really would like them back before they cause any more tr—ooou-b-ble--!" Toko squeaked, the solid ride now beginning to bump and shake violently. "Wh-what--!"

Koume had opened the conductor door and passed through, tilting her head to the side to look at the passengers. She paid no mind to the shuffling train cart and instead eyed Zarame, "Oh, so you've returned Zarame-sama." She mumbled, "This train is about to derail, please proceed to your nearest exists now."

"WHAT?!" Chika bellowed, "What do you mean the freaking train is about to derail!!" He grabbed Koume by the scruff of her large conductor uniform and shook her lightly.

Shimotsuki had already drawn a doorway with her chalk by the time the other shinigami had fled through their portals. She had turned herself over to them and shaken her head at Chika's behaviour, "It appears that in our search for Michiru-chan's mind, our choice of changing the track in which the train takes has lead us to a dead end. Please, everyone enter this door." No one had to be told twice, so they had jumped through the small door drawn on the floor, not forgetting to grab Koume and drag her with them as they left the train.

-X-

Landing with a heavy thud, Michiru had let out a small groan of protest before opening her eyes to look around. Sitting up she had looked around herself and blinked in awe at the scenery. She knew this place, well at least she knew how it worked. This realm was a dimension of only darkness and white staircases with different platforms. Anyone could easily loose themselves in a place like this because of all the awkward angles, but luckily for Michiru, she had trained in a room with Zara-kun that held a similar build.

"Oh, this place was created recently."

"Kyaaaa!" The lilac haired girl screeched, and had found Koume standing not too far away from her on the same platform, her over sized conductor uniform indicating that it was definitely her. Standing up, Michiru had tried to locate the others but figured that somehow when they entered this place, they must have separated. 'I wonder if Zara-kun is alright?' She thought as she continued to look at the various staircases.

"Ano… What do you mean when you say this place was recently created, Koume-chan?" Michiru asked slowly.

Koume had given the schoolgirl a blank look before answering, "As a conductor, we have a map of all the tracks and the worlds. This place wasn't on my map, and it still has the feeling of new magic in it." She huffed, "To escape this place you need to find the correct doorway."

'Mou, I guess that means I should start looking for everyone.'

-X-

Out of all the people Akatsuki Chika could be stuck with, why, why in gods freaking name did it have to be with the Reaper? What had he done to deserve this kind of treatment? Besides, wasn't it some unwritten rule that he had to be with Shito no matter what? Growling, Chika had opted to stuff his hands in his pockets while he walked with Zarame along the many staircases.

It's not like he had any huge thing against the Reaper, besides the fact that he used to try and reap the Z-Loan members and took Michiru away from him and… Damn the Reaper just pissed him off in general! He just didn't like the guy… 'Maybe I'm just jealous or something… I did like Michiru until he took her away and claimed her as his. Jeez I really don't like being alone with him…' He cringed when he noticed some tendrils of purple aura beginning to form around him.

"Cheh, do you even know where you're going?" He decided to ask, surprised in how calm his voice actually sounded.

Glaring back at the silver haired man, Zarame had snorted, "Of course I do porcupine."

"Then why does it feel like we're going in circles?" Chika asked.

"It's the way this dimension is built, pay no mind to it."

"It still feels weird walking around like this."

"Just ignore it."

"Man, who'd want to live in a place like this anyways?"

"No one, this place is generally used to ward off enemies. Once we find the centre we'll find who it is that is in control of this dimension."

"Mou," Chika crossed his arms, "You just have an answer for everything, don't you?"

Zarame just gave him a dull look and shook his head, "Now I know why your partner wishes to shoot you all the time."

A golden eye had twitched, "Hey! Is that an insult?!"

Sighing he chose not to answer and tried his best to keep calm, though his instincts were flaring upon sensing various amounts of evil plaguing this place. It didn't help that Chika had continued to mindlessly speak and make jokes about this predicament to lighten the mood. He wished that he could just shut him up with a slice of his scythe but went against it, deciding that Michiru would rather her friend remain alive than slain.

Just as he reached the beginning of another staircase, he had noticed that bellow them there was Shito, Shimotsuki, and Lyca. He knew that they still had a ways to go before they got to the centre of the dimension, but decided that it would be best if they joined up again as well, if not for the sake of being stronger, then for the sake of his delicate sanity.

He cringed when Chika had come to notice them as well and had insisted on yelling to get their attention. Grabbing the boy by the scruff of his white collar he had jumped over the edge with him and dropped. His black cloak blew behind him majestically while he effortlessly landed on the platform with the others on it, dropping Chika unceremoniously on his butt before crossing his arms.

"Zarame-sama," Shimotsuki greeted.

"Hn," Zarame looked away and preceded to walk in the direction he knew to be the correct one. Again, he had to walk the same path as before to get to the centre. 'Though I could always leave them behind to search for Michiru-chan.' The mere thought of her in danger made him bubble in anger. Just as he finds her he loses her, what kind of piss poor luck was this anyways?

No, he needed to stay alert and remain with these Z-Loan people until they either found the source of this place or until they find Michiru. Either way, this type of dimension tended to be troublesome without the proper training. They could end up getting lost if he didn't guide them.

"How are you so sure this is the correct path to take?" Shito asked as he followed.

Chika had snorted and crossed his arms behind his head, "This guy has like some crazy good sense of direction. We found you didn't we?"

"I believe this is the correct path as well, Lyca would have chose the same path if we had chosen to depend on his nose," Shimotsuki added.

Just as they had begun to move, a loud explosion coupled with the rumbling of the platforms had made everyone loose their balance and fall back, safe for Zarame. As they tried to decipher what was happening, Zarame had felt another surge of power and then another rumble had shaken the platforms. "The battle has already begun, we must hurry." With that said he had practically flown through the various stairs with the others hot on his heels.

He didn't pay attention to them anymore as he focused on the four power signatures he could feel and had grinded his teeth and narrowed his eyes in anger. One of them he made out as being Michiru, because no one could set anything ablaze like her. The other one, her opponents, he couldn't quite understand. Once he had been able to catch sight of a fiery tornado, he knew that he didn't need the stairs as a guide and had instead opted to soaring towards the platform above him. Ignoring the others as they yelled for him to slow down, he had gone against their wishes and risen above the platform and landed just in time to kick away an enemy wishing to harm his precious Michiru.

With a snap of her fingers, her tornado had increased in strength as she attempted to burn something within. He knew of her powers well, but he didn't expect her to be so fierce against anyone. Eying her now, he noticed that she had a very stony look and that her lilac haired looked almost more a dark silver than purple. Blinking he had turned back to the opponent he had kicked away, finally realizing that he recognized the boy as being the A-Loan member Zen. However when the boy had dared to bare his blades against him, he had sealed his fate.

No one picks a fight with the Grim Reaper and lives to tell the tale.

"They are under a spell, you must restrain them," Michiru spoke evenly, grunting when her tornado began to go out of control until it got turned into harmless mist. Forming her hand weapons, she prepared herself to fight at a closer range with her opponent. However instead of attacking her he had just stood there, with that same twisted grin on his face. "Shiba," She spat.

Zarame had tensed up next to her, feeling the need to take out some of his frustration of the blond boy as well. Too bad this stupid Zen kid was in his way and insisting on fighting. Then he noticed that it wasn't only Zen, but Shuji that was here as well, standing on Shiba's other side with his machine gun ready. 'Perfect.' He thought grimly.

"Shiba!" Chika's howls alerted them that the others had made it.

'Even better,' Zarame thought, looking around to see if he could spot the remaining members of their group.

"Well well, now that everyone is here… Oh yes, you must be wondering where your other friends are." Shiba had openly waved his hand, two large blue spheres materializing above his head. Inside of each there were Koyomi and Toko knocked out.

Laughing at their looks he had continued, "Oh don't worry, nothing bad has happened to them, yet."

Michiru had clenched her weapons tightly, absolutely loathing this man for doing this. If she was lucky, she could get the others out of here leaving her to deal with him. She doubted they'd be happy about it, but it seemed to be the only plan that could work. "Shito-kun, there is a sphere behind Shiba that has the school in it. If you shoot it the school will return to its location and the doorway will be opened for everyone else to return."

Pouting lightly, Shiba had shaken his head, "Now now, don't go wrecking my fun Michiru-chan."

"Go choke and die." That was all Zarame had to say to him before he formed his own scythe and prepared himself.

Shiba had laughed again and tisked the Reaper, "Mind your business, I'm only interested in the girl and her powers. If you hand her over to me I'll even let you all go, doesn't that sound ideal?"

Michiru had been surprised to actually hear her boyfriend snarl in response, not realizing just how animalistic he could be at times. Smiling to herself, she had stood her ground.

Chika and Shito had already formed their weapons and stood side by side to Michiru, shooting Shiba deadly looks. Clearly they weren't going anywhere anytime soon, "You can go to hell Shiba, 'cause we don't leave friends behind. Even if they are Gophers."

The small joke had managed to even make Shito smirk and point his gun at Shiba, his pistol ready to fire at anytime.

In one swift movement, Shuji and Zen had been sent to attack them first while Shiba attempted to take Michiru. Of course the key word being attempted seeing as Zarame was having none of it. So instead of Shiba duelling with the girl, he found himself nose to nose with the Reaper while the she devil helped the others try and free their friends from his hold.

He had narrowed his eyes and taken the fight into the air, exchanging mirror blows with the Reaper as well as icy attacks. He hadn't really expected the Reaper to find this place, let alone be fighting him directly. He figured that he had hidden this place well enough under the radar, but as it turns out the damn red head had found his way here. Frustrated, Shiba found himself tiring of this nonsense and had decided enough was enough.

"You have been a thorn in my side long enough, _Shinigami_." With that said, he had used a speed in which Zarame had never experienced before and found himself falling back due to a piercing pain in his back.

Michiru had looked up in time to see her beloved plummeting head first to the platform where they all stood. She also noticed that a fair amount of blood was staining his bandages, causing her eyes to widen in horror. She had never seen anyone harm him like this before, ever. With unshed tears blurring her vision, she had rushed over in time to just miss catching Zarame, and not miss the loud crunching noise that had been made upon impact. Her face had contorted as she collapsed next to him on her knees and looked over Zarame. "Zarame-kun!" She screeched, placing her hands on him and shaking him lightly, "Zarame-kun!" She tried again.

There was so much blood around him, so much.. Her tears poured freely from her eyes while she continued to call out his name and shake him. Her white bandages slowly coating themselves in blood, as did the rest of her clothing. She just couldn't believe he was actually injured and possibly dying. 'Or is dead,' A small voice suggested, making her burn with anger.

No, he couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. He was death, there was just no way to get rid of him, right?

'No… No…. _Nooo_! _Onegai_… wake up.'

"Zarame! Zarame-kun! Zara-kun!" She continued to hoarsely screech, aware that everyone was looking at her despite their situation and the foes that they were fighting. She knew they were, but she didn't care. What mattered was her loved one on this bloodstained floor, and she didn't even know what to do about it.

"Z-Zarame-k-kun! Pl-please don't leave!! O-Onegai, stay with me… W-wake up!" She sniffled, but when no response came from him, she had scrunched her eyes shut yelled his name one more time.

"_Zarame_!"

Shiba's grin of satisfaction had been wiped clean off his face when a blinding, white light had illuminated the entire place. Cursing he had been forced to close his eyes to prevent himself from being blinded by its intensity, unaware of what was happening around him.

-X-

Lifting his head from his desk he had hid a ghost of a smile. Pushing up his glasses he had turned his chair so that he was looking outside at the falling snow. If a mere ferryman of his status could feel such a power surge, he wondered who else could as well? Especially since she was in another dimension… Someone must have either made her very sad… or very angry. Whatever the case, Bekko-san was pleased to know that he wasn't wrong in assuming who she was and what she was.

Oh yes, things have just gotten even more interesting than he intended.

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**A/N Wow, took me long enough to release this eh? Well it's done! And I hope you guys liked this chapter! Consider it a holiday gift. Anyways, R&R please! I would love to hear some feedback.**


	8. Reaper's Secret

**Disclaimers: I do not own Zombie-Loan**

**A/N Sorry for the lack of update. I hope this chapter makes up for everything!!! Honestly, I do. **

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 8. Reaper's Secret**

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She didn't quite know where she was, just that it was a warm place and very bright. She could also faintly hear dripping water, and feel a warm wind gently caress her cheek. This place felt familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it. Like she had been here once a long time ago. Maybe her parents had taken her here before? 'No.. Where I am… It feels so surreal…' She thought, her big olive eyes squinting slightly in an attempt to take in the place. 'Sugoi..' When her vision had finally cleared, she could make out a garden of flower and plants she had never seen before, as well as the smallest stream that divided the land nicely.

"Where…"

"You are currently in the celestial plane, the world in which I was born."

-X-

"Sh-Shito!! Shoot the school!!" Chika grounded out, covering his eyes to keep himself from going blind.

"I can't! Not with this light!" Shito yelled back, happy that at least the enemy was having troubles too trying to see them.

Then, everything had happened all at once. The light, and gusts of unbearable winds had just stopped, and the echoing screams of Michiru's sadness had gone silent. The Z-Loan group had instead been shocked into silence, eyes wide with shock as they watched Michiru stand over the Reaper's body.

Her short lilac hair had grown and darkened until it was completely black and floated gently around her body. As she opened her dull olive eyes, the blood that had coated her fingers was disintegrating, and her clothing changing until a long, layered and patterned gown had materialized on her. She then had shifted her gaze first to the body on the floor before turning her gaze to the false Reaper that had harmed her loved one.

With only a glance, she had been able to shock him until he stood still. Breaking the glance, Michiru had turned back to her bloodied Reaper and sat down, placing his head in her lap lovingly. Her face glowed with a small smile as she brushed some of his stray crimson locks from his face.

"Zarame," She whispered.

-X-

"C-celestial plane?!" Michiru squeaked, shifting her glance to all the different plants quickly, "Eh?!" She looked around, "Eh?!"

The woman that stood in front of her was beyond beautiful, and held much amusement from watching the panicky girl. "You mustn't worry, death has not claimed you."

"B-but this can't be real! I m-must be dreaming then!" Michiru boldly argued.

The woman chuckled, "I assure you little one, that you are not. This is real, you have come here of your own will and summoned me yourself."

"S-summoned?" Michiru repeated wearily, blinking up at the strange woman, "Just… Who are you?"

She smiled brightly, "I am you… A part of you that has been hidden for so long."

"I am called Amaterasu."

-X-

As she whispered his name, his eyes had opened, and she had finally been able to gaze into his amethyst eyes once more. With another small smile, she was caressed his face with her pale fingers, all traces of blood around him dispersing into nothing. "You found me."

"…Ama..terasu.." He whispered in disbelief, his eyes wide in shock.

-X-

"Long ago, after the travesty my brother and the other gods used to lour me out of hiding in a cave, I had come to meet someone special. It was during a celebration that was being held for the gods and goddesses of the lands. One of them had especially made time to come and visit for a short while.

"During this time, the other gods would ignore his presence, including I. However during this particular time, I wanted nothing to do with the other gods. You see, I was still angry, and so I felt the need to be with another that didn't make me feel so aggravated. That is when I first stayed in the company of the guest whom everyone had disliked so."

Michiru blinked, "Which god was this?"

Smiling, she replied, "The God of Death, Zarame-sama."

"We had a dangerous start to our friendship, but soon we grew closer. I adored his company, and he seemed to enjoy mine as well. We finally had fallen in love a year later. He would take time to come see me often, and I would risk seeing him as well. However, my brother discovered this fact shortly after, and he grew furious. In his opinion, the God of Death had no business pursuing the Goddess of the Sun. Even after banishing the Grim Reaper from the Celestial plane, he was not satisfied. He thought the human emotion of love to be so repulsive…

"My brother had gone so far as to rip the love I held dear for the Reaper out of my soul and banishing that as well to the earthly plane. That is when you came to be born with it. You have a portion of my soul within you, which is why you can come here, why you have your abilities… You are a goddess."

Michiru gaped at the black haired woman, now taking in her lovely woven gown of layered silks. This woman was _the_ Amaterasu, and she… Looking down at herself Michiru had noticed that she looked just like a reflection of this woman, wearing the same layered gown. 'She and I…' She thought with shock, "B-but Zarame—"

Amaterasu's expression saddened, "After my soul had been torn into two portions, Zarame-san grew furious… And brought on such a cold that plunged the earth into a very deadly winter. My powers over the warmth had been the only light able to stop him from completely driving the world into an eternal winter. Once he had calmed, he had begun to forget me… What little emotions he had left were gone, and he had completely become dedicated to his duties as the God of Death."

Michiru had saddened, "Zara-kun…"

"You are me, and I you. Now that you have finally awoken my soul, you have the true abilities of a goddess. Use them well, Michiru-chan, they were entrusted to you." Her image had begun to fade, and with it the environment in which they were.

"But wh-why me? And how long.. Have I had them? Wait! O-onegai! Do-don't leave me! H-how can I help Zarame-kun! Onegai.." Michiru reached out to the woman.

"With the gift of warmth can come many things… Such as the gift of life."

"Gift of life…" Michiru repeated.

-X-

"Only a portion, yes." Michiru smiled down at Zarame, "Do not struggle, you should rest easy." She whispered, brushing more stray locks away from his face.

Far away, Shiba chuckled at his luck. Stumbling on the Reaper's core is one thing, but imagining the kind of power that could be obtained by taking the core of the Sun Goddess was another. 'I could be unstoppable,' He thought, bouncing the idea around in his head, 'Or I could always tempt her to join us, the girl is kind of cute.' He smiled. Reaching out towards her, he had begun to shake the reality in which they were sitting in. First thing was first, he needed to get rid of the original reaper, and sucking him into a twisting void seemed pretty ideal.

The false reaper duly noted the furious and yet cold look Michiru was shooting him with, and before he knew it, the void that he had been trying to create had been eliminated. The troublesome girl had steadied the flow of energies and settled them without even lifting a finger. Grunting, he had tried again, but this time nothing had happened. He couldn't get a firm grip on the space in which Zarame was lying on. In fact he observed with widened eyes Michiru holding out her own hand, a golden bow materializing in her delicate fingers.

Things seemed to be taking on a turn for the worst.

'Kuso…' Shiba mentally swore, shifting himself so that he stood behind the two floating orbs of companions.

"Free them, Shiba-kun," Michiru spoke, her bowstring drawn back taut with an arrow snugly in place.

"I'm afraid they're my only leverage in this Michiru-_chan_…" He grinned lopsidedly, "Even I'm not suicidal. Though I can take a hint… But before I leave, a parting gift." He waved his empty hand and suddenly the dimension began to quake. Flashing one last smile, he had opened a portal and jumped in.

The staircases and platforms were beginning to dissolve as the world struggled to remain stable. Looking around herself, Michiru had scanned the area quickly before making the decision of shooting two golden arrows at the bubbles holding her friends. The things had bursted and dropped the prisoners sloppily on the platform before Michiru made one last aim for the floating school and shot it.

"Here we go," Chika muttered under his breath.

Immediately there was a burst of light, and everyone was sucked into it with strangled cries of protest. Reaching out for Zarame, the two had briefly locked fingers before getting violently separated in the spiralling winds.

"Michiru!"

"Za-rame!" She cried back in alarm.

-X-

Tired olive eyes had opened weakly and winced at the offending light. She could faintly hear her partners sigh in relief and the distinct mutters of a very pissed off Toko in the distance. Blinking slowly, a familiar face had swamped her vision with worry reflected in his eyes. A small smile had tugged at her lips when she saw him, and she sat up slowly with his help.

"Looks like your hair is back to normal and clothes are back to normal… Jeez ya crazy Gopher, you could have killed us ya know," Complained her spiky white-haired friend who soon received a hit to the head by his partner.

"Quiet down teme, I don't feel like hearing your complaints so early in the day." Shito growled.

Michiru had blinked several times and looked around, "Eh?" Back and forth she turned her head in confusion, "W-we're back?"

Chika had also come to see why his Gopher was so confused and had bursted, "Holy crap! What day is it?! Is it winter time already?! What the—"

_TWACK_

"What the _hell_ Shito!"

"I already told you to quiet down Akatsuki, now would you like me to shoot you?"

"Yare yare, already I miss the peace an quiet," Groaned someone else. Though the roar of his engine gave away the biggest clue of all, and the redhead had soon been tackled in a hug by a very happy Koyomi-chan. "Hah, well there you are, I missed you too!"

Toko growled at them and crossed her arms stubbornly, "I'm glad you guys are all happy to be back, but where have my team mates gone to? And what is going on with this weird weather?" She was beyond cold in her school uniform and really pissed at the lack of her A-Loan members.

"During your absence Michiru-san, Zarame-sama had affected the weather pattern and thus made it very… snowy…" Answered Shimotsuki as she patted the excess snow off her doll-like dress.

"Oh," Michiru looked curiously over at her boyfriend only to find him looking away almost sheepishly. To her surprise, she also found him with the smallest tint of pink on his cheeks, which could easily be blamed on the cold. But she knew better. "I'm glad you worried for me," She told him as she begun to stand up. That's when she realized that they were still on the school grounds, and all the students that had been with them were nowhere to be found.

'Maybe they were all returned to their homes,' Michiru thought.

"As for you team mates Toko-san, they may still be lost in the dimensions. With their minds never returned, they were inevitably held back." Shimotsuki continued once she was standing, leaning into Lyca for some small support. "I apologise for their loss, but we can retr—"

"No," Toko interrupted bitterly, "Don't even say you'll help bring them back. I don't want it." She glared at the Z-Loan team and stood up, "I'll find a way to bring them back myself, so if you'll excuse me." She turned and walked away from the group.

Sotetsu whistled, "Damn, she is one pissed off broad." He chuckled and patted Koyomi's head, "I'm glad I don't have to worry about that with you."

Koyomi smiled widely, "Koyomi is just so happy to be back!"

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to get out of this cold," Chika told them.

Michiru and Zarame exchanged glances, "Ano.. Why don't you all gather at Bekko-san's office? I will see you there after I take care of this snow," She said timidly, earning nods from the team. With one final look around, she made sure no civilian was around to witness her transformation slash disappearance from regular student to her reaping outfit. Pulling on her hood she had linked hands with Zarame before disappearing in a furry of white and black feathers.

"Man, Gopher's powers are way cooler than yours shit-Shito," Chika mused, earning a glare before getting hit in the head once more.

-X-

"_Another miraculous event occurs as all the snow suddenly melts around the entire city of Tokyo. There's not even a cloud in the sky and the sun is hotter than ever, but the scientist are still baffled…" _

Bekko-san leaned back into his chair, ignoring the annoying news anchor on the radio that Yuuta had turned up to ease the silence in the office. He had eyed his team boredly who glared fiercely at him the entire time they waited for Michiru to join them. At one point they had seen her quickly fly by the building as she forced all the snow to melt in her path.

'You could cut the tension in here with a butter knife,' Yuuta-kun thought with a mild nervous laugh, deciding that he should fetch tea to help lesson the violent waves the boys were emitting.

Sotetsu basically didn't care about the whole ordeal, and had exited the building in favour of finally driving his motorcycle in warm air again. This left Chika-kun, Shito-kun, and Koyomi-san in the office with this awkward silence to deal with. Even when the tea was brought, nothing had changed until Michiru-chan and Zarame-sama had appeared in the office, the Reaper glaring similarly like the others at Bekko-san. Of course that would make things oh so much less awkward. The only one that wasn't so pissed off was Michiru, who looked more exhausted than usual.

Grabbing onto Zarame for support, Michiru had transformed back into her school uniform and given a tired smile at Bekko-san, "Everything sh-should be okay now."

"I disagree, things are certainly not o-kay." Shito spoke up, crossing his arms and firmly keeping his gaze on the Ferryman, "We nearly got ourselves killed because of this Z-Loan job, and two A-Loan members are still missing."

Bekko shrugged, "That isn't all. I also ended the deal with A-Loan for the monthly contest. I bought them out since we gathered most of the funds already and since you were gone so long." He pushed up his glasses, "You took much longer than I anticipated to return to this world. So I took matters into my own hands… Is there anything else I am missing?"

"Hell yea!" Chika bursted, standing to his feet, "You did squat to help us!! We are your damn workers, and the only reason we got our asses outta there was because the Grim Reaper came for the Gopher and then she did some weird thing and saved us!" He pointed down at Koyomi, "She lost her other half! And that goddamn Shiba slipped away again!" He breathed in deeply, practically hyperventilating from his loud rant.

For once, his partner had also remained quiet about Chika's volume, and even mentally supported him. Though not as rash as Chika, Shito had firmly agreed with his partner about their considerable losses and basically finished up by saying, "Mainly, we are very displeased with these matters, and so, we quit."

"We'll keep paying you back, but our way, not yours," Chika added.

Michiru looked between the two boys uncertainly, "U-uh—I-I-don't—" But before she could finished, the boys were both up, as well as Koyomi, and leaving the office. 'Oh boy, I didn't expect them to be this angry..' She looked back at her boyfriend and tensed up slightly, even Zara-kun was still glaring at the Ferryman. 'I wonder why Bekko-san has a new desk..' She pondered, recognizing the new piece of furniture with ease.

"Well, this isn't at all shocking," Bekko spoke boredly, looking over at Michiru he had for once grinned. "And you, I see that you have finally realized your full potential."

Zarame had taken this comment as a threat and had taken Michiru's hand and stepped slightly in front of her, "Despite that, _Ferryman_, this girl will not be working for you. She isn't your toy now that you know of her, and will not be used to your advantage. _Ever_."

He snorted, "Remember Reaper, she is bound by contract to continue payments until the debt is paid. Part Goddess or not, she still owes me money and if I find that I can receive a large sum of profit that could pay off her debt and much more simply by giving her away, then I don't know If I will be able to help myself." His face darkened, "After all, I am just a lowly, greedy ferryman. Am I not?"

"Why you.." Zarame growled, the room becoming increasingly cold.

Placing his hands up in defence, the Ferryman had smiled crookedly, "Now now, I was not serious. I realise however that with this knowledge now spreading, you may encounter several new enemies. So please keep this in mind and be aware of all the dangers you may have to face."

Michiru had squeezed Zarame's hand, "Understood, please don't worry about us. I'm sure everything will be f-fine." The lilac haired girl had shifted her weight now so that she leaned forward and placed most of it on Zarame. She didn't even realize what was happening until she could vaguely hear him calling out to her in alarm before everything went black.

"It's not surprising that she's exhausted herself, you should take her somewhere to rest." Bekko-san had waved for them to get out, shaking his head when Zarame gave him another death stare before leaving in a shimmer of black. Sighing loudly, he had leaned back into his chair and turned it around to look outside again, 'To think that the soul of Amaterasu is nestled in that innocent girl, who would have thought it. Quite the anomaly that is.' He thought with a wide smile while pushing up his glasses again. 'Though I imagine that this will be causing all kinds of trouble very soon.'

-X-

"Damn it! When is she gunna wake up already?" Chika cursed as he ate the wonderful hot meal Koyomi had made. It was only he and his partner that were at the dinner table that night, which struck him as odd considering how they would all usually eat together noisily practically every night.

Shito had his chopsticks to his lips and mumbled, "She needs her rest, after all she did help us immensely during our mission." He picked up his napkin and dabbed his lips, "Tomorrow, we are going to Hong Kong." He announced.

"Eh?!" Chika spat out his rice, "What the hell are we going to do there?!"

"The Xu Fu has something of mine, and I want it returned," He merely explained.

Chika cocked his head to the side in confusion, "But isn't the Xu Fu going to capture you if we do that? Those guys will be able to stop us before we even get past the front gates, we don't really stand a chance."

"Then we simply need to find a different route inside."

Chika grinned, "Oooh, you have a source, don't you?"

"As always."

"Right! Tomorrow we leave! And kick some ass in another country!" Chika hooted before inhaling the rest of his dinner to go and pack.

With a shake of his head Shito had taken their dishes and placed them in the sink before going to pack his own clothing for their trip, 'What an annoying boy..' He mentally snorted as he walked by Michiru's room. Peeking inside he noticed that Zarame was sitting quietly next to the lilac haired girls bed, still waiting for her to wake up. "Shinigami." Shito greeted, entering the room.

"Ch, boy, what do you want." Zarame had shifted his dark amethyst eyes to the Z-Loan hunter before looking back to his beloved Michiru. He brushed loose strands of hair from her pale face, inwardly smiling when her head slightly moved against his fingertips. He had transformed back into his old school uniform when he returned with her at the dorms and placed her in her bed. Though he found his shinigami attire to be more comfortable, Michiru often told him that he was less intimidating to others when he simply wore his school uniform. He could care less about how the others feel around him, but apparently she did give a damn, and so he abided to her request as often as he could.

"What is Kita-san exactly? A goddess? Or a human?" Shito inquired curiously.

Zarame snorted, "You found her as a human, I trained her until she had become a demi-goddess, and now she has fully awoken her soul and its potential. She is as much a god as I am. However my control is over death whilst hers is over life, unless provoked." He shifted his eyes to the boy, "The power over warmth can rouse life or destroy life if it becomes too hot." He turned back to Michiru and brushed a cool fingers across her cheek, "We were meant for each others ages ago, her lost soul wandering the earth, reborn time after time until you found her. If it weren't for you, I would have never found my Michiru-chan."

The Z-Loan boy frowned, "Are you in love then with the soul of Amaterasu-sama or Kita-san?"

The reaper chuckled softly, "I care for them both very deeply. She is everything I desire, her compassion and her strength are all things I admire. She is not one without the other. She is my Michiru-hime."

"Fine," Shito muttered, "As long as you realize she is not the real goddess, but merely a piece of her. She truly is our Gopher more than Amaterasu-sama." With that said Shito had retired to his room to pack his belongings for their trip tomorrow.

Zarame watched the smile form on Michiru's face as her olive eyes opened to look up at him sleepily. "So you were listening, were you?"

She blushed in embarrassment, "E-eh, gomen nasai. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." She laughed weakly, "Ano.. what time is it?" She began to sit up and look around for her glasses.

"Late in the evening. You should prepare your things while you are awake, your female friends wishes to leave tomorrow to see her family," Zarame told her.

"R-really?" She found her glasses on the night table and put them on, "I suppose I can do that.. but first I really could use a bath." She laughed, "I must smell awful."

Zarame rolled his eyes, "Hardly, but I wouldn't mind accompanying you to the baths." He grinned sexily, earning a small gasp from her. "Unless of course you don't wish for my company. As I recall it, you allowed me with you when my core had been taken away."

Michiru blushed, "A-ah y-you--!" She turned beat red, "You were s-supposed to be a-an innocent little sh-shinigami! You p-peeked?!" She couldn't believe her ears, was he honestly being serious? This overly hot boyfriend of hers wanted to go to the… to the baths.. with uh, her? And the fact that he didn't keep his eyes to himself before… And now… that flirtatious jerk, he was getting her all jittery thinking about sharing a bath!

"Ignoring beauty such as yours is very difficult," He innocently said.

"B-but what about w-when we first met! You were so kawaii even then you stabbed me with your little scythe… Innocent and kawaii.."

"I suppose I was shy," He replied.

"Sh-shy?" She repeated, "You peeked, didn't you! You really did spy on me!" She screeched in horror.

For once, and for only her ears, Zarame had laughed. Though it was a very deep laugh, but nonetheless one that she hadn't heard in ages. Which meant one thing, he was yanking her leg only to make her completely blow things out of proportion. 'Evil evil evil boyfriend…' She mentally repeated.

When he was finished laughing, he had regarded her with sparkling amethyst eyes and a sexy smile, "You are very amusing Mi-chi-ru-chan. I never 'peeked' on you in the baths, I respected you and enjoyed the warmth of the room." He stood up and bent over to kiss her forehead, "You best gather your things if you wish to bathe tonight."

She was so red, her face felt like it was a burning ball of fire. All his teasing had made her so jumpy, that little… "You're so mean.." She complained, "I can't believe you tricked me."

He chuckled softly, "Perhaps I'll beat you to the bathes and we'll have to share after all."

With that she had sprung out of bed and gathered her things while her boyfriend watched in amusement. She was not going to have him in the bathing room with her, no way. She knew that if things were to get… hot, then the Z-Loan boys would be bound to overhear them what with the thin walls and the echoes of the bathroom… It was just a huge embarrassment waiting to happen.

"I'm off!" She screeched red faced before scrambling out of her room.

Zarame shook his head and smiled secretly, this was the girl he loved.

-X-

"Michiru-chaaaaaan!" Sang Koyomi with glittering eyes, "What do you think of this? Cute right?" She squealed holding up a shirt.

The glasses girl sighed, they were supposed to go on a trip today to see Koyomi's family. Apparently though, Sotetsu overheard them speaking and demanded that he first go out on a date with Koyomi before she leaves him again. So now they were quickly shopping for a new outfit to go out in. 'And of course the boys over heard Sotetsu and now are leaving tomorrow as well instead of today for their trip…' She narrowed her eyes on the suspicious rolling rack of clothing with white and blue hair sticking out from above.

"Ah, what about this one?" Koyomi brought out a lacy top that was purple and black.

"Kawaii, I think it will look very good on you Koyomi-san, especially with that new skirt you have picked out," Michiru complemented. "Sotetsu-san won't be able to take his eyes off of you."

"You think?" She blushed cutely, "Yosh! Lets go buys these!" She said confidently, practically skipping to the cash register. Michiru could have sworn she even spotted floating heart around her and laughed weakly.

Next, Koyomi had changed and begun her very special date with Sotetsu-san in the market. Naturally Michiru had spotted Shito-kun and Chika-kun without even trying on her way back to the dorms, and had decided to instead join them on their curious adventure. The two were bickering softly and hadn't heard her coming until it was too late. "What are you doing?" She had asked them.

The two had jumped out of their hiding places and then swiftly moved back before they could be seen. "A-ah well you see I'm on a date with uh.. Momoka! She's going to be here any minute and we're going shopping together!"

Michiru looked sceptical and moved her gaze to Shito-kun, "Ah, are you going as well Shito-kun?"

"Hell no! My delicate and beautiful flower of a sister risks being tainted near this monkey," Chika muttered, earning a glare.

"Hn? Then that must mean she risks gaining stupidity from being around you," Shito hissed back with crossed arms.

"Say what?!" Chika snapped, "You--!"

Shito looked back at the scene where Sotetsu and Koyomi were standing before and found them to be gone. "They're gone."

"Hu? Where!" Chika turned around to look for the targets, but found them missing in the swarms of people that flooded to streets to do some afternoon shopping. "Shit."

Michiru pointed an accusing finger at them, "You _are_ spying!"

Chika stuck out his tongue, "Yea, but… that doesn't mean what I said wasn't true! I did go on a date with Momoka, then I spotted Koyomi and Sotetsu… and this baka appeared magically after." He pointed to Shito.

He glared, "No I didn't."

"Uh ya, you did."

_-Flashback-_

Chika was standing quietly behind a vendor and staring baffled at Sotetsu and Koyomi. He would have never thought that these two would have ever hooked up.. He personally believe Koyomi to be a great match up with his gloomy partner, but he had been wrong in the past before… He then felt someone grabbing his shoulder and turned in alarm, only to find that same partner he had been thinking about, "Shito!?"

"Be quiet or we'll be discovered!"

"What're you doin' here?"

"I used Chao Hai to… No I mean, I happen to have been passing by—"

"You liar!" Chika barked.

_-End of flashback-_

"See, sketchy, right?" Chika told Michiru.

Michiru nodded in agreement, "So what is your interest in this? Koyomi-san and Sotetsu-san are just going on a date, it isn't such a big deal."

Shito snorted and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking away from the lilac haired girl. "I have no interest in this," He stated with a hint of a growl.

Chika smirked, "Shito's jealous." He translated.

_THWACK!_

"Aiie! AIIIE!" Chika nursed a new bump on his head, looking teary eyed at his partner, "You jackass!"

"Ch, I'm going back to the dorms," He simply said before taking off.

Michiru smiled nervously at him as he left, noting the dark cloud that loomed over him, "He really must be jealous.." She muttered, "Poor Shito-kun."

Chika sniffed, "Told ya. I know him better than anyone!" He looked back around the wall briefly to glance over the area one more time for the targets. Since he couldn't find them he had shrugged and decided that they could hear the details later. "Feel like getting some ice cream Gopher?"

Michiru perked, "Sure!"

The two walked towards the nearest vendor together.

"Good, 'cause you're payin'." Chika sniggered.

Michiru sweat dropped and laughed faintly.

-X-

After a tearful goodbye, the girls had separated from the guys the next morning to get onto a train. Zarame had decided to tag along with the girls as well, however he chose to remain in his shinigami form to avoid paying for tickets and such and merely snuck onto the train unnoticed by all the humans. And so he sat quietly across from Michiru-chan so he could have a window seat while the girls chatted.

"We broke up," Koyomi said casually.

"H-huh? A-after your first date?!" Michiru adjusted her glasses.

"Yeah, we decided we weren't meant to be. But we did have fun!" Koyomi giggled happily.

"That's good! I'm glad you did, but does this mean you're interested in someone else Koyomi-san?" Michiru asked, earning a shocked blush from Koyomi. "Huuuuuuuuuuuh, so you do like someone else?! Someone from school? Or Chika-kun maybe? Or is it Shito-kun?" At the mention of his name the pigtailed girl had turned crimson.

"N-no! It's not…"

"Ah, it is him? I see how it is…" Michiru mumbled in thought.

"A-ah n-no! Stop thinking like that!! It isn't… I mean uhm.."

Zarame looked at the blushed girl, "You are all red, and nervous. Apparently you like the Tachibana boy, it's obvious now."

Koyomi squeaked under the intimidating eyes of the Reaper, "…" And slowly began to breathe to lessen the redness in her face.

Shortly after calming down Michiru had smiled sweetly and asked Koyomi-san about her feelings towards Shito-kun. The woman had replied that she had grown fond of him ever since she had first met him. She believed that he carried a similar burden then her and thought she could help him with it. Or at the very least understand each other's pain.

"Mou, I should stop beating around the bush and tell him straight up my feelings! Don't you think?" Koyomi asked Michiru, "Except that I'm older than him… is he into older women?"

"Eh? Isn't Shito-kun over a hundred years old?" Michiru mumbled.

"Let's talk about something else!" Koyomi giggled a little too much, "Uhhm, how are things with you?" She asked lamely.

Later on, Koyomi had fallen asleep on Michiru's lap, leaving the girl to stare out the window with Zarame. She was a bit worried about meeting Koyomi's family and also was nervous about Zarame-kun. If Koyomi's family was at all like the girl, then they would have the ability to see her Zara-kun. 'What will happen if they see him? What will they do?' She thought.

"You should rest, you seem tired." Zarame remarked.

Michiru had stumbled out of her thoughts and blinked, "Eh? I guess.."

"Do not fret, I will watch over the both of you," He promised.

"Arigato Zara-kun," Michiru smiled, tilting her head so it rested against the window. She soon fell into a light slumber.

Soon the train had stopped and they were all on their way to the clan's mansion. Koyomi kept reassuring Michiru that they were almost to her front gates, though Michiru was still unconvinced. "Are you sure we're almost there?" She looked nervously around the dark forest and shivered involuntarily.

"Oh yeah, this is just my front yard!" Koyomi laughed, ploughing through the forest without a doubt. "Almost there!" She piped.

"B-but you said that an hour ago.." Michiru panted.

Zarame had taken note of Michiru's weariness and frowned. Even with a tough walk as long as this, it shouldn't have tired her out so much. 'Perhaps she is still recovering from the last incident with the awakening of her soul.. Her body may still be very weak and vulnerable until she is fully recovered.' He thought with concern, though did not display the emotion so easily on his face. He mentally decided to keep a close eye on her, not that he never did to begin with.

"Hm.. We've already walked for three hours, so we must really almost be there," Koyomi said cheerfully, leading the way. "Ah look, almost at the front door!" She opened up a section of bushes and spotted the gates, "See, we're here!"

Immediately they were bombarded with greetings, "Welcome home!"

"You're finally back Lady Koyomi!"

"Miko-sama!"

Michiru blinked in astonishment, "M-miko? Why are they calling you--? And this place is so big!"

"…" Zarame narrowed his eyes suspiciously on the women and followed closely behind Michiru-chan. He noted that none of them seemed to notice him except for one younger boy who boldly stared right at him and watched his every move. 'Strange,' He thought

"A-ah you miss understand everyone! I'm just here to take care of some business--!"

"We understand my Lady," The women agreed until an older woman had cleared a way and smiled kindly at Koyomi.

"Miko-sama, your grandmother awaits for you. Come this way."

Soon Koyomi was waving at Michiru and telling her that she'd see her in a little bit. Of course Michiru only nodded nervously and looked back at the remaining people who stood and stared at her with the same creepy smiles. She felt Zarame take hold of her hand before she was led away by the other people to a room where food was already prepared and waiting to be devoured.

Sitting nervously, Michiru had looked at the impressive amount of food and drinks available and swallowed, "A-ano.."

"Come come! You are Lady Koyomi's friend! Please don't be shy, eat as much as you want!" One of the servants said.

"Oh and drink up!" Another poured Michiru a drink.

"I-I'm not even of legal drinking age.." The lilac haired girl meekly said.

The maid giggled, "It's only fanta, don't worry."

Michiru soon found herself in a hot bath, and Zarame had completely refused to leave her side despite her lack of clothing. "Things are not as they seem here," He hissed, looking out one of the windows. He narrowed his eyes and began to grow furious, "We're being watched Michiru-chan. This entire place is under surveillance of you and your companion."

She was already blushing with him in the room, but now she was crimson, "Eek!" She squeaked.

"Quickly, transforms so we can be hidden to their eyes." He ordered.

Michiru had hurriedly gotten out of the tub and slipped into a snug robe and a pair of sandals. 'I can't believe this… I knew something was wrong.' She thought as she transformed into her white clothing, her cloak extending and hood sitting nicely on her head. Even though humans couldn't quite see her right now, she figured she would be extra cautious anyways.

At the sound of Michiru getting out of the tub, Zarame-sama had barely been able to keep his eyes on the window. He had snuck a side glance of the girl slipping into her robe, a hint of blush forming on his cheeks before he looked away and continued to stay on guard. As soon as he was sure she had changed, he had turned around and walked to her. They both had turned their heads when they heard a knock at the door and hurriedly disappeared together in a blur of black and white.

Landing outside of the bathing room, they could hear the guards begin to panic.

_"After all the effort it took to make Lady Koyomi fall asleep… We must find that girl! She cannot ruin this!"_

Michiru's eyes had widened under her hood, "We need to find her."

Suddenly, there was a hesitant touch against Michiru's free hand. She had turned briskly, only to find a boy standing in shock looking at her. She had inwardly cursed and thought that they were doomed now that this boy could see them, however he had different plans.

"You wish to save Yomi-san, don't you?" He questioned.

'The one from before,' Zarame had glared at the boy, "He has unusual amounts of spiritual powers."

Michiru had nodded to them both, "Hai."

The boy had waved for them to follow him, "Come on, I know the way to Kagiri Iwa. Please come."

Zarame had squeezed Michiru's hand and nodded to her. So they followed the young boy without a word, and had begun to walk through a field of tall grass soon after. They were warned about the snakes and told not to step on them if they saw one. "What is important about them?" She questioned.

"The guardian deity of this house is a snake. When we see a snake, we call it Lord Yatogami and take special care of it." The boy replied, "The Yoitsuhara clan would use their ability to control the climate and natural disasters as well as lady Koyomi… And the only one able to summon the gods and be possessed by the holy spirits was the priestess, born once per century of the Yoitsuhara clan."

"So you are saying that boys were born in this century?"

"No," the young boy replied, "Boys could not be born. Instead they were aborted, sucked away by the Yatogami box. Being a priestess, Lady Koyomi had attracted many things, one of them incredibly being the countless spirits of children in the Yatogami box. They had formed together to create one being, which Lady Koyomi said was named Yomi." He explained, "From birth she has had the 'Dead Man's Tongue' and was inevitably able to make contact with them."

Michiru shivered involuntarily, earning a comfortable rubbed from Zarame-sama's fingers, "W-what happened next?"

"Many unfortunate signs came about, and the clan believed that Lord Yatogami was angered. The Yatogami box had been filled with the souls of children and Yomi had been created. In an effort to calm the gods, the clan had decided that Yomi needed a larger container, and so they chose the young priestess…" The little boy frowned, "With the success of the bonding, came a price to pay. Lady Koyomi had lost her priestess abilities, and could no longer use her Dead Man's Tongue at her own will."

"Even worse, Yomi would make appearances and frightened the clan by using Dead Man's Tongue. So, they kept her locked away deep within the mansion."

"Tch, this clan is despicable." Zarame growled.

'No wonder Koyomi never spoke of her family,' Michiru thought with a similar disgust.

"We're here at Kagiri Iwa," The little boy pointed to the large rock with a deep crevice.

"A rock that seals the dimension that exists within the human and spiritual world called Yuumei Sakai." Zarame filled in, "I have been to this place before, it isn't very amusing but dangerous."

"This crack was the ill omen that had formed before Lady Yomi's appearance, as long as you can get through the crack, you should be able to get to the other world."

"Yosh!" Michiru smiled in thanks, "Let's go Zara-kun!"

"W-wait, Zara-kun? As in _Zarame-sama_?" The little boy backed away slightly.

Zarame had turned his icy gaze to the young child and snorted, "You best be leaving, boy."

"Hai! Please be careful on your journey, and whatever you do, do not look back!"

"I am well aware of that fact," Zarame had replied coolly before entering the crack along side Michiru-chan. When they were out of sight, the little boy had sighed and smiled lightly.

Who would have thought he would stumble on a strong spirited girl and the Shinigami, both willing to go through dangers to save Yomi-san. 'My lucky day.'

-X-

"Whew, its so hot here!" A voice cheered.

"Obviously, we're in the sub tropical area," Another replied dryly.

"Mou, Shito-kun, we should do something crazy on our first day visiting! Let's kidnap some random guy!" The excited white haired man said.

'He's very hyperactive… Great…' Shito thought with a sigh, "Let's be clear about something. You are here because of our right hand problem—"

"Oooh! Food vendors! It's like a…a festival or something!!"

"—Would you be quiet!"

"Oooh, it looks so good—"

"—It's normal food!!—"

"—I'm buying it!"

"—Ugh," 'It's like I'm strapped to a five year old..' Shito thought dully, now licking an ice cream cone.

Soon they came to a high site that could see the whole of Hong Kong, to Chika's amazement, "Nice view!"

"Its obvious that something like this could only be home to the Xu Fu.." Shito muttered, "Be it them or the Ferrymen.. There are things we don't know of either.. And…"

"We should have some fun finding out our own answers, right?" Chika cut in with a grin, "Which includes you telling me a little more about your past, and—" He suddenly began to panic as he watched one of his purchased souvenirs drop down the cliff they were perched atop of, "Kusooooo! My souvenirs!!! THEY WERE FOR MOMOKA!!!" He wailed, then heard the firm click of a camera and turned darkly to the young girl with the object, looking at them in confusion.

His eye twitched, "STOP TAKING GODDAMN PICTURES!"

Shito sighed, 'Yes, I most definitely _am_ strapped to a five year old..' He mentally confirmed.

They had continued to explore the city in an attempt to keep Chika in a non-violent mood. And just when Chika-kun was feeling better and enjoying himself, Shito had told him in a soft mumble to start running as fast as he could after the next left turn. Before he could even form a response to that, they had booked it together down an alleyway and then through another street, and shops. The silver haired boy had taken note of their environment and the people that were staring at them as they moved swiftly from street to street until they reach a building, and entered it.

They hid in the shadows of the deserted building, shuffling through it to another exit located on a different side. That sat in there quietly for a while before Shito had sighed and nodded that it was safe to speak.

"What the fuck is going on?!"

"Xu Fu, we were being followed by them."

"Them huh?" Chika groaned and sat back against a wall, "How did they find us?"

"Besides this city being run by them, they must have used Chao Hai to locate us… Though I believe we lost them." Shito breathed, wiping some of the wetness from his face away. It had started to rain lightly during their run, just a brief shower that was enough to dampen their clothing.

"Hu? Didja get a good look of 'em? Like like, was it that weird guy with the squinty eyes," Chika pointed to himself as an example and imitated Touhou.

With a snort Shito had shaken his head, "No, only his lackey. But you've met him? I suppose this means you know how destructive he can be."

"That damn bastard used some weird magic crap.. It hurt like hell." Chika complained.

"Yes, that's what makes the Xu Fu so different from the other mafias. This one has the power to control demons and creatures to their will. The Xu Fu had been using this power to their advantage for years, and had even adapted with the times. The only beings left with strong abilities are those from the "Touhou" bloodline. They are the only generation allowed to use their powers to the leaders will." Shito explained, "To them, both us and the illegal zombies are the enemies and must be destroyed."

Akatsuki narrowed his eyes, "No different then the stupid Shinigami…" He said dryly, "Fan-fucking-tastic."

"Isn't it?" Shito grunted, pressing his ear against the door lightly. He nodded his head and decided to walk further into the building, away from the door, "They're still looking out there for us. But luckily, we're here already." He stopped in front of a door and opened it, revealing a stairway to a creepy looking basement.

"So who wants to go into the sinister basement first?" Chika asked.

"Ch," His partner ignored him and continued down the stairs.

"It's that kind of attitude that gets the first guy dead in the horror flicks."

Once at the bottom, the place was lit up with all kind of candles, and in the back sat an old lady with tarot cards on a table. She didn't look up as Shito placed money on the table, and instead turned to the door she was guarding and opened it. Chika had nervously walked around the lady and followed Shito until they stopped at another door.

"What are we doing?"

"Buying information." Shito replied, knocking on the door.

"Ah, then allow me." When no one had answered the door, Chika had kicked it in and walked over top of it, "Oi! Payin' customers here!"

There was an old man wailing at their entrance and backing away frightfully, "WAAAH! Z-zombie!! G-get away!! If you touch me I'll rot!! _ROT_! STAY AWAY! AWAY! _BACK_!"

Shito rolled his eyes, "That's my line you scrawny old man." He approached the geezer and lifted him with his right hand, "If it weren't for my right hand being gone, I wouldn't even be touching trash like you. In fact I'd rather die." On the sidelines Chika hotly shouted that it was his right hand being used, but Shito ignored him. "Tell me where she is!"

"I-I don't know anything!"

"Where is my possession, MY WOMAN!" Shito hotly shouted.

"A-ah! Sh-she's already dead! That woman died giving birth to a monster like you!!" The old man swallowed hard, a pistol being held to his nose shortly after his insult.

"Hey my hand! When did you..?"

"Tell me old man, or I blow your nose clear off your ugly face," Shito howled.

"Heh?" Chika scratched his head, "Uh, the one who gave birth… ah…"

"My mother," Shito answered, "The Xu Fu has been holding her hostage for over a hundred years, and I want her back."

"W-well--!"

The old man had been cut off when bullets began to fly in the room. Two men were stationed at the door they had just come through and were shooting mercilessly at them. With a small curse, Shito had started to fire back as he shoved Chika in the direction of the hidden back door.

"It's the Xu Fu, go now!"

"Come on ya geezer, you're comin too!" Chika grabbed the man by the scruff of his shirt and dragged him along to the separate door, kicking it open easily and running up some stairs. All this while the wrinkled thing wailed about being hounded because of the rotting zombies. "Shut up! Do we look like we're falling apart?!" Chika howled, forming his katana for extra precaution. They had made it to the ground level and rushed out of the nearest doors outside. 'Shit, where's Shito!' He thought, looking back over his shoulder.

No sooner after the thought, Shito had appeared from the basement door and he was not alone. Not that he was being chased by the Xu Fu, because Chika knew his partner had excellent aim. No, he was actually being backed up by that annoying what's-her-face from A-Loan… Oh yeah, Toko. 'What is she doin' in Hong Kong?' He thought, motioning for them to follow him out through the door. Just as he was turning right, Toko had placed a hand on his shoulder and shaken her head.

"Wait, there's guys just around the corner from here, we should go the other way. I know a safe place to stay," She said.

Chika had mentally confirmed with his partner that this was okay before they followed her to the 'safe' place she was talking about. And some place it was. As it turns out, it was a low-grade restaurant with piss poor service but some half decent food. Toko knew the chef as well and got their food for free as opposed to paying.

"I'm here on business. I've been tracking the Xu Fu in hopes of finding Zen-kun and Shuuji-san," She sighed, eyes becoming watery.

"So then what happened to A-Loan when we got back?" Shito asked.

"Well…" She went into a long explanation about the A-Loan Ferryman and how he had brought the bodies of both Zen and Shuuji back from the dimensions, but their souls where still hiding somewhere. He then sold them as slaves to the Xu Fu and left her shortly after. "That's when I made a deal with your ferryman and joined Z-Loan," Toko gently said, "He gave me the loan I needed to survive and guaranteed that if I could find the bodies of my partners that he would have their souls returned and place them under a loan as well."

"Ch, what a dick of a Ferryman you had," Chika snorted. He hadn't really fully taken in the girl when they first saw her, but now that things were settling, he found himself kind of interested in her new look. Her dorky pigtails were taken out, leaving her hair to drape down her back freely while she wore a tight shirt with a jean jacket, mini skirt and tall black boot. She looked pretty fine, for an annoying wench that is.

"So then you know where their headquarters are?"

Toko grinned, "Better yet, I know how to get in. I was going to follow through with my plan when I sensed you two in the city. So I decided to find you bakas before you went and did something stupid."

At this, the old man had chuckled, "A-ah now that you have a guide, I suppose you won't be needing me anymore!" Before he could slip away, Shito had grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and forced him to sit.

"You stay," He growled. "Until my mother is safely with me."

"Mou, how very complicating you are," Toko leaned back in her chair. "We don't need him, I can get us in."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Chika asked.

"Well, before you yahoos showed up, I was going to try the ventilation systems out. But now that you're here, I think maybe my plans can be modified…" She grinned mischievously.

"I'm thinking, we let them take us into their custody, since they do after all want _his_ body," She pointed to Shito.

-X-

"How much further to Yuumei Sakai?" Michiru asked her companion.

"We should be finding it soon enough," Zarame answered. "There, that spot of light," He pointed out, and the two had rushed to it together. In a flash of blinding light, they had appeared in another place filled with coin lockers upon coin lockers. "We've reached it."

"This place?" Michiru blinked, pulling away the hood on her head briefly, her long cloak dissolving into its shorter, tattered form. Walking further into the hallway, she observed all the different lockers in confusion and turned to Zarame. "Uhh.."

"Excuse me, I'd like to mop that spot." A tiny voice asked dully.

Michiru had gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice, turning back around to find a little girl in a uniform with a mop and bucket of soapy water, "K-Koume-san?!" She gaped.

"Haaiii," She mumbled, looking from Michiru to Zarame. "Mind moving?"

Michiru had jumped out of the way to let Koume continue her work, "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Hu? After the derailment, I lost my job as a conductor. So now I'm a janitor," She said as she scrubbed the floor with the bubbly mix she had. "You must be here looking for something in one of these boxes, right?" She said, looking up dully at them, "So look for your box and open it."

"W-we don't have a key.." Michiru mumbled, "How do we--?"

"If the box was meant to be opened by you, then you don't need a key." Koume said with a small sigh, placing her mop into her plastic bucket for a small break, "Want to buy a candy?" She randomly asked, pulling a small orange wrapped candy from her pocket, "It's peach flavour."

Michiru sweat dropped, "A-ah, not really but maybe Zarame—" She looked over at him and he simply shook his head, "Well maybe I will want it later, so how much—"

"Five hundred yen please," The girl stuck out her hand and gave Michiru a solid look.

'She drives a hard bargain. I don't know if I have that much on me,' The lilac haired girl thought, transforming briefly back into her human form to take out her coin purse. 'Ah, five hundred yen exactly.' "Here—" As soon as the money was in her palms and extended, it was quickly replaced with the small candy as the girl counted out her profit. Laughing weakly, Michiru had transformed back into her white battle outfit and returned to the task at hand. She had focused her eyes and quickly found the appropriate box that had Yomi's spirit within it.

"Number 69," She mumbled, crouching down to it. 'There's no key—gasp—it opened!' She thought, backing up with closed eyes. There was a blast of wind, then nothing. She told herself not to look inside it and then turned around to leave. 'Is that it? It must be..' "Okay, let's go Zara-kun."

"Hn? You did quite well for your first time locating a lost item in this place, Michiru-chan," He said with a smirk.

Koume had turned to Zarame and tilted her head slightly, "Zarame-sama?"

The crimson haired shinigami had briefly turned his attention back to his ex-employee and nodded briefly, "..?"

"Want to buy a candy?"

He inwardly sighed in exasperation, "No Koume."

"But you used to like them."

"Yes however I don't want one."

"Maybe for later?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"You made me loose two jobs."

He flinched, "No."

Her dull eyes stared at him, "…"

Yet again he flinched under her stony gaze and gave into her demand. He had given her one thousand yen to stop staring at him and in return she gave him one candy. Staring down at it, he had narrowed his eyes and looked up at her, 'I realize she is scamming me out of a candy.' He thought with a small look of annoyance.

"That's for making me loose two jobs," Koume said, counting out her money proudly.

Shortly after, Michiru and Zarame left together to go back down the path they came. She had giggled at Zara-kun's slightly pouting face for having been ripped off, knowing that he hardly ever let his emotions show. "She did get demoted to a janitor position, you can't really blame her for overpricing your candy," She hid her smile behind her hand but knew that he could still see it.

"I see you find this amusing."

"Maybe."

"Tch," Zarame looked away, still moping over the loss of his money.

Rolling her eyes, Michiru had grabbed his bandaged hand and lanced her fingers in his, "You're—"

_"Michiru."_

She stopped walking, hearing the distinct echo of her name being called. 'Yomi-san?' She thought.

Zarame had stopped as well, eyes widened. 'No--!' Whatever happened, they couldn't look back. If they did…

_"Michiru, danger is approaching.."_

_"Turn back.."_

"Danger?" Michiru mumbled before being yanked forward by the Reaper in front of her, and then was pulled back into a hug. Her back was flat against his solid chest, and he lowered his head to her ear and whispered to her in a very deep voice, 'Mm, does he realize how attractive his voice is?' She mentally questioned.

"Do not look back, Michiru-chan. It's a trick, and will leave us vulnerable for an attack," Zarame told her as he ran his finger along her sides gently. "Understood?"

That word made her think back to when he was training her and showing her techniques. Making sure she understood everything perfectly before moving on to the next step, "Hai, wakarimashita."

"Good," He let her go and they began to walk again, though he could feel her struggle as the voices got louder and even screamed. He winced and imagined that Michiru was having a very difficult time with this. Her feelings were the main sources for her powers and were what drove her to defend her friends. Hearing Yomi like this… He looked up at Michiru, a look of slight horror on his face. He had just witnessed Michiru turn back as Yomi screamed her nickname, "No! Michi—" He too looked back, and saw the large mass of snake-like creatures that could easily tower over them.

In the centre of all of them, stood the boy from before who had led them to this place. He scowled at them before saying, "You really are stupid, now look at what you did!" And of course, after that the snake-like shadow creatures had shot forward to attack.

"O-oh my—Waaa-WAAaaaAAH!" Michiru screeched, turning on her heals and running down the tunnel.

Zarame was right next to her as she ran, taking note on how close the creatures were getting. 'Kuso..' He mentally swore. 'They are catching up. We need a distraction, and fast.' That's when he remember the candy he was given. Maybe he hadn't been ripped off after all without a reason. Taking it out quickly he had tossed it back, grinning when the snakes were weakened by it.

_"Candy."_

_"It's candy."_

Michiru gapped and smiled briefly at Zarame, "Good idea!"

_"Michiru! Don't get distracted, just keep running before they catch you!" _

Now that voice Michiru absolutely knew belonged to Yomi, "Yomi-san!"

_"Yes, now keep running! If they catch you they'll eat you from the inside out!"  
_  
All colour drained from Michiru's face and she squeaked, "E-eh?! What are they!!!"

_"They're the sediment I left behind when I entered Koyomi. All the dark and heavy parts of my consciousness that I shoved down so that I could rise." _The voice answered.

"Wonderful," Zarame growled sarcastically. "This path is not doing us any good. It is time we make our own." With that, a scythe was formed in his right hand and a new path was created with a firm slash. This crack in the world was just large enough to fit him and Michiru before it started to seal itself up. Though he already knew that it wouldn't close in time to stop all of the shadows, so with another slice, he created another crack in the dimension walls in which he and Michiru jumped through.

By the time the things had stopped chasing them, they were deep within a different dimension, but not hopelessly lost. Both gasping for breath, they had settled down and taken a small break. That's when the single snake form of Yomi had magically appeared on Michiru's shoulder.

"Good thinking, I'm glad you managed to get away," It breathed in relief.

"YOMI-SAN!" Michiru yelled, hugging the snake form tightly, "You found us!"

"Ack! Yes Michiru-ch-chan." Yomi lightly whimpered.

"Good, now that our chase is over, we should try to find a way back to the Yoitsuhara clan and return you to the woman," Zarame suggested, closing his eyes to decipher the best route back.

"Yoitsuhara clan?" Yomi repeated, "That isn't right, I don't sense her there at all."

"You can sense her?" Michiru asked.

"Ever since I was put inside of her, we had developed a strong bond." The white snake said, "Her body is not at the clan's mansion. Though I can feel remnants of her there, they're old.."

"If not there, than where is she? Was she taken by chance?" Zarame asked, noting how nervous Michiru was beginning to look.

The snake bent it's head and nodded, "She is currently out of the country.. Hong Kong I believe."

"Hong Kong?" Michiru gasped.

"You're other friends were on their way there," Zarame frowned. "That is also the head quarters for the Xu Fu."

Yomi hissed, "They are after her Dead Man's Tongue! We must stop them from taking it."

Michiru looked over to Zarame, "Z-Zara-kun."

At her small whimper, he had taken her hand and dragged her into an embrace, "What is to happen if they acquire the Dead Man's Tongue." He could feel Michiru's body temperature on the rise and quickly tried to mend it by allowing his cooling aura to comfort her.

"In short, she will not survive."

He winced, 'Michiru-chan.' He thought worriedly, brushing locks of her hair soothingly. "Fine. To Hong Kong then." He decided, holding onto Michiru tightly. 'I vow to bring her back to you, my Michiru-chan. You will not loose your friend.'

"Let's go."

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**A/N Ahhh, sorry for the wait? Honestly I am. But to make it up to you guys, I'll be posting up a new couples image on my deviant art page of Zarame and Michiru. I still have some touch ups to do and right now I'm visiting my family and won't be back at my place till Thursday. So hopefully It'll be up by Friday or something like that. It's cute, I think anyways. Well, R&R!!**


	9. Reaper's Friendship

**Disclaimer: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N Yeah, been updating my other story lots and felt that this needed to be updated next. Thanks for the push to make me update through your reviews, it deff knock some sense into me. Haha, and to my disappointment this year at Anime North no Zombie-Loan cosplay. I really wish there were… So next year I am determined to cosplay as Michiru and make a mini Zarame plushie to sit on my shoulder! I will make it work!**

**Ahem, on with the chapter..**

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 9. Reaper's Friendship**

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"Brilliant, wonderful, this is just fan-fucking-_tastic_! _'Let's let them take us into their custody'_ she says. Now look where we are!" Chika pointed accusingly at the pink haired girl, "We're trapped in this prissy room separated from Shito and the stupid Broker! What the hell are we supposed to do now? That dude 'Hongun' or whatever knocked me out and left this huge ass bump on my head! And another thing—!"

Toko narrowed her eyes, clearly ignoring him as best as she could to look for a quick exit from this hell hole. How the white haired man's partner could stand this boy, she had no idea. I mean, could Chika be any louder? Not to mention arrogant and rude and different in every way from her Zen-kun. 'But at least this looser actually notices me unlike Zen-kun.' She sighed quietly, 'Even Shuuji-san noticed me more and was at least nice to me… And why in gods name would the Xu Fu lock us up in a suite? Together? Boy girl?'

"You aren't even listening!" Chika roared and stepped in front of the girl, shaking her by her shoulders lightly, "Yo—" He blinked at her shadowed face, "Eh? Are you alright?"

A cold wave had suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts to notice the close proximity of the annoying porcupine boy and the fact that he was _touching_ her. "What are you doing? Get your hands off me," She snapped darkly.

"Tch, aren't we moody today?"

"Says the idiot who was breaking down two seconds ago!"

"I was not breaking down!"

"Oh yeah? So you weren't rattling the door knob or pounding on the walls and swearing against the gods? You're pathetic!" Toko hissed.

"Heh, well it beats being depressed!" He shot back, "And what the hell happened to this so-called plan anyways?"

Oh yeah, the plan.

The vents.

Damn that stupid Z-Loan boy and his silly distractions!

Thump!

Toko jumped a little. Either somebody was getting a little too excited up stairs or something big was crawling above them. Ew, like a rat!

Thump thump crk….

Chika and Toko looked up, both wincing at a sharp screech.

Another screech, and then the vent had given away, the grate landing on the floor as well as a dizzy Broker who simply groaned painfully about his old age. "W-where did I land…" He looked up, Chika's face coming into view with Toko's, "W-wha! Stay back zombie!"

Chika grabbed the man roughly and hoisted him up, "Where the hell were you off to? Trying to escape without us jiji?"

"Ew! No! Don't touch me zombie! Back! Back! Ba—"

"Shut up!" Toko snapped, surprising both of them with her boldness, "It's time we get out of here and find Tachibana-san. There's no telling what they could be doing to him."

"Heh," Chika grinned, "So what's it gunna be old man?"

"That's the way out!" He pointed up to the vent he had just come from, "I swear I swear!"

After exchanging satisfied looks, Chika and Toko had managed to climb into the vents with the Broker ahead of them to lead the way. The previous A-Loan member had severely scolded Chika for attempting to look up her skirt when they started to make their way through the space. She had ended the argument by forcing him to actually take the lead with the old man to avoid anymore inconveniences. 'Perverted, stupid, silly boy! I can't believe him—' Her face still burning with anger.

"Oi, would you simmer down back there? You're heating up the air, it's boiling in here!" Chika teasingly shot back, earning more heated glares from her. 'Too easy,' He mentally chuckled.

'Why that—' Toko began to think, then stopped when she actually looked up and—'Oh my god, he's got a cute butt—Ack! Toko! No _no_! I mean.. NO!' She mentally slapped herself over and over again for even thinking that.

"Would you two quiet down? We don't need the Xu Fu to hear us!" The Broker grumbled.

"Yeah yeah, just lead the way jiji."

Toko muttered something around the same lines of that but otherwise kept to herself, not trusting her mouth at the moment.

-X-

"Her location has changed," Came a mumble from the snake spirit Yomi, "She's in Shanghai."

"So quickly?" Zarame cursed, a thought hitting him, "That is where that rotting corpse is.. Now I see what it is the Xu Fu are trying to accomplish." He held on to the slumbering Michiru tightly. He had to convince her to rest in order to calm herself and save her energy when she needed it most. Until then, he was running through dimensions with her in his arms and the snake on his shoulder. The current world he was making his way through was filled with sand dunes and two shining moons in the sky. A beautiful place that reminded him of the grounds he had brought Michiru to long ago.

"Is there something of importance in Shanghai?" Yomi questioned curiously.

The auburn haired man snorted, "Tch, the leader of the Xu Fu is there. He is nothing but a rotting corpse, moments away from death, however still fighting greatly to remain in this world by living off the blood of children." He stared down at Michiru lovingly, "I've tried several times to reap that disgusting being. His soul is completely twisted with hatred and malice, a perfect addition to those scorching in the depths of hell."

"Another failed attempt to reap a human? I seem to be loosing faith in your abilities, Shinigami." Yomi mused.

He instantly glared up at the snake on his shoulder, the air surrounding them feeling a little frigid, "If you weren't my Michiru-chan's companion I would _kill you_ for that remark."

The white snake rolled its eyes and looked ahead, "If you keep this up, I might have to curl around Chiru Chiru for warmth."

His blood was boiling with anger and his aura deepening, 'If this silly boy thinks he will come anywhere near my woman—' He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down, "Hn."

"There's something ahead," Yomi muttered with a growl.

It wasn't uncommon to stumble upon creatures in the dimensions. Some would be hideous, others human-like, and some that were positively ferocious and animalistic. These things that had appeared were monsters that inhabited the desert. Scavengers. But even so, they were small fry compared to beings like him and Michiru.

Zarame had ceased running and placed his precious girlfriend down in the warm sand as well as his shoulder mate Yomi, "Guard her while I take care of this nuisance." He spoke gently, brushing some stray strands of hair from her face.

"Hai," Yomi nodded next to the girl.

He had taken off in a flurry of feathers and appeared before the group of snarling creatures while floating in the air. These things were very large, dark and hunched monsters. They had large mouths, glowing eyes and were accompanied by what seemed to be comparable to a dog in the way that they were loyal and obedient to their masters. However they were two headed, at least half the size of their master, and had bone skulls with glowing eyes. Both types of creatures were snarling and barking orders at one another, lines of drool seeping from their very sharp teeth.

"If you're quite done speaking, I will give you a single moment to leave," The Reaper said flatly, not even bothering to take out his scythe for scum like this. He wouldn't want to taint his blade with this foul blood. Yet now he was tempted, because these repulsive things had the audacity to cross him and send another type of monster underground to his Michiru. 'Michiru-chan!' Zarame froze and turned swiftly.

At the same time the other creatures found it fit to attack him as well, and shot forward as soon as his back was turned.

"I think _not_," Zarame heard the distinct voice of his Michiru say. Though it hardly sounded like her usual tone, even if she was fighting, her voice wouldn't sound so… so dark. After confirming the burst of flames that he knew could only come from her, he had quickly turned back around and formed a wall of ice to separate him from the attacking skull creatures.

They had crashed against the wall roughly, cracking it with the force of the impact. This gave the Reaper enough time to fly up above the wall and look down on them. For them to even think of attacking Michiru-chan… He didn't even think twice about freezing them into blocks of ice. He then landed a few feet away from them and with a wave of his hand, the ice had started to break down into the smallest particles, bodies and all completely blown away in the wind.

"Tch," He let the wind incase him for a moment and blow his locks gently along with his cape to the side dashingly, "Trash…"

Looking finally back at Michiru, he could see that she was in mid burning of not one but two of those dog-like things, simply standing and watching them burn and howl in pain. The Michiru he knew wouldn't torture anything in that manner. She would put it out of its misery and move on. Not toy with the prey. He had narrowed his eyes and practically flown to her side, roughly grabbing her by her shoulder and turning her.

"Michiru!"

She smiled strangely and winked at Zarame, "I told you I would protect her."

"Yomi," Zarame corrected, not very pleased with this development.

"Oh please, I only borrowed her body since she was sleeping so peacefully," Yomi giggled and turned his eyes back to the burning dogs. "They tried to hurt Chiru Chiru, so I made them suffer for it."

"Get out of her body, now!" Zarame ordered. He was growing more and more irritated by the minute with this silly spirit. To make things worse it clearly wasn't paying any attention to him because it found the flames he had created while manipulating Michiru's body to be more entertaining. 'Damn that—'He had chosen to eliminate the distraction by putting out the flames with his ice. The dog things had been long dead by now, the stench of burning flesh and bone not at all pleasant to the Shinigami.

"But I like this body," Yomi purred, hugging himself, "Chiru Chiru is so very pretty and soft.. So strong too.."

"Yomi!"

"You aren't any fun," Yomi complained, closing his eyes. His normal snake form had floated out from the back of Michiru's neck and had sat on her shoulder with a little bit of a pout.

Michiru had opened her eyes sleepily to stare at her surroundings, noting the horrid smell and the burnt and damp corpses of the things not too far away from her. She blinked slowly and then looked around quickly, "Ah… Eh?" She twisted around with confusion clearly written all over her face. "Ano.. ah... u-uh…."

Thank god she was herself again. He simply adored her more when she was completely oblivious like this. "Michiru, we are approximately half way to returning to your world and to the new location, Shanghai. We should continue."

"O….h…." She blinked.

"Chiru Chiru, are you alright?" Yomi asked innocently.

"Don't even start, you vile reptile," Zarame glared at him.

"H-hey, don't be mean to her Zara-kun," Michiru grabbed Yomi off her shoulder and snuggled him.

"…"

"…"

"Eh? Nani?"

"…You said _her_…"

"…That's right?"

"Chiru Chiru, Yomi is a boy. Didn't I explain that?"

"…"

"…O…h… Gomen, with you living in Koyomi-san's body I always thought that you were… Well a girl… Heh heh?"

Michiru tried to ease up the tension a little by looking down at the burnt corpses of the strange animal things and asked simply, "Oh, did I do that?"

After careful thought, Zarame had decided against telling her about Yomi and had shaken his head, "No. Let's go."

"R-right," She agreed turning with him to continue towards their destination. He had been right about the nap, it had calmed her down quite a bit and relaxed her muscles nicely. Too bad her brain hadn't quite kicked in when she said Yomi was a girl. Damn, how could she not make the connection? Shrugging it off she had decided to forget about this incident entirely and move on.

Zarame had all too soon found the weakest point in this world and had easily slashed it with his scythe, creating a crack for them to continue through. How they had managed to get this deep into the mass of the worlds he had no idea. Maybe he should have been paying more attention to where he was going originally when he had opened the first few worlds when they were escaping the remnants of children from Yomi.

As soon as they had passed into the next world, Michiru had been practically glued to his side. They were in some sort of tunnel, and if Zarame was right, they would have to pick up the speed to get the heck out of there. This tunnel was the link to the next world, and it wasn't left unguarded like the many others. He had taken quick notice to the far off noise behind them, and knew that Michiru had heard it too.

"What is that…?" She questioned worriedly.

"We call it The Cleaner. At any time an unexpected guest trespasses in forbidden territory they are stopped by The Cleaner."

"B-but we've never had this happen to us before when we've been in other dimensions."

"The world we are next entering isn't like the others. It is also the only way to get to our goal," He glanced back and saw light beginning to brighten the tunnel, "We need to move faster."

Michiru nodded in acknowledgement and placed her hood on.

Next thing the little snake spirit knew, the tunnel had rushed by his vision in a flash. Michiru and Zarame had turned into blurs of white and black, quickly appearing in the next world before this 'Cleaner' could get them.

Floating in the sky of the new world they had entered, the two had exchanged looks before observing their surroundings. There was a city of people bellow them, but Michiru knew that this wasn't quite their stop just yet seeing as this place looked completely unfamiliar to her and had some strange animals to boot. 'That looks almost like a mix between a rabbit and a cat,' Michiru thought in awe. She could see why this place would be a little more guarded then others. It wasn't barren but very much populated like Earth.

"Let's continue, I feel a weakening in the worlds this way," Zarame motioned to the right.

"H-hai," With one last glance back, Michiru had turned with him and they continued on their way.

"We must hurry," Yomi urged.

Zarame mentally agreed with the snake, but would never admit to it. For now they had at least one more stop before getting to China. From there they could get to Shanghai in seconds then depend on Yomi to lead them to Koyomi. He just hoped that they wouldn't be too late.

'Hold on, Koyomi!' Michiru mentally yelled.

-X-

"Your payment is all here. I'm very grateful for your help with the Corpse Release Spell. However I am curious, why is a being who is much above us mere humans interested in these matters and our 'money'?"

A little girl with long hair and a teddy bear merely gazed up at Touhou with a blank look, two boys standing behind her hunched over, "Mm, don't know. We just move according to ARRC's will," She answered.

He nodded to her and glanced behind the girl to look at the hunched figures, 'Those two..' Touhou began to think.

The little girl tilted her head and blinked, "These boys are trained Jiangshi lost by a Taoist… You can use them… Do you want to buy them…?" She asked uninterestedly, hugging her stitched up teddy bear more tightly.

Touhou stared mutely at them in recognition, but that was all. "Ch, I have no need for them."

"Very well."

-X-

Chika and the Broker were eying two guys that were bellow them from the vent. The white haired boy had nudged the old man, "Translate jiji!" He hissed in a whisper.

He pouted at him and looked back down at the two security guards, "Hmm.. 'The vessel' for the release is being moved to Shanghai…"

"Hu? What's _the_ _vessel_?" Chika asked.

"I believe it's the term used for that monster zombie friend of yours," The old man confirmed with a nod.

Chika's eyes burned with anger a the old man's words, "Cheh, lemme through jiji!" He forced the vent to pop open and dropped down gracefully on the floor, ready to blow off some steam. He hadn't even cared when the old man had landed behind him on his back again with tears in his eyes. 'Deserves it,' He mentally added.

"Huh?" Security guard A turned around.

"The prisoners!" Security guard B shouted.

"Where is he?" Chika bellowed, "The _Shanghai_ one! Where is he?"

Guard A went to pull out his gun but was kicked into a wall before he could by a clearly pissed off Chika.

"I'm not gunna ask again!" He yelled as Guard B was going to withdraw his weapon. Chika also didn't give him a second chance and had uppercut the guard just as more were beginning to file in. 'Shit...' Obviously the place was crawling with guards, he probably should have kept it down a little. 'Too late to dwell on it!'

With an exasperated sigh from the vent, Toko had dropped down and snatched Chika by the collar of his shirt, "It's time to go! Come on I know a short cut!" She also grabbed the old man and they both dashed for an exit.

"What the hell are they doing with Shito! Why is he being sent to Shanghai!" Chika yelled to no one in particular, though Toko seemed to have a good idea.

"Lao Ye is in Shanghai. If I'm right, this means they successfully gathered all the information and tools required to perform the Corpse Release Spell," She told him in response as they ran.

"N-Nani? How do you know that?" Chika barked.

"Because I used to be with the Xu Fu when I was young. I remember them talking about the vessel and the Corpse Release Spell back when… It doesn't matter. Either way I was rescued by my uncle who was previously known as Touhou, I learned his spells and became a Taoist." She explained. "Now we need to hurry! I'm afraid for Tachibana-san and… The woman who has the Dead Man's Tongue… Koyomi-san. I think she is in grave danger."

"Great."

-X-

"Mmm," Groaned a girl tiredly. She lifted herself from the lumpy futon weakly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. After yawning once, she had found that she was completely awake and wondering exactly where she had gotten to. "Wasn't I at the Yoitsuhara state?" She mumbled to herself in question. Looking up, she had noticed someone else in the room, "Huh, Shito..?"

Koyomi stood quickly from her bed and grabbed his shoulder roughly, "You're Shito, right? Shito!" She shook him gently, taking in his new appearance. His hair had been slicked back and he was wearing authentic Chinese clothing as opposed to his usual casual clothing or school uniform. He was also sitting rather still in a chair and staring emptily at the floor, apparently having not heard a word she had said. 'What is going on? Where are we?' Koyomi thought in alarm.

"I'm afraid our Shito Shao Ye is nothing more but an empty shell, filled only with despair," Chuckled another voice that had just entered the room. "It's better this way really, we don't need him to disrupt our ritual…"

"What did you do to him!" Koyomi all but cried, positioning herself in front of Shito protectively.

"Nothing really, only enlightened him on his true destiny… Now then, we haven't much time for this operation. Our master cannot be preserved for much longer…" The squinty eyed man grinned, "Heh heh, immortality is bothersome… And so very vain… Well, as you can see.." He moved to a curtained area of the room, and pulled it back.

Koyomi gasped in horror, her eyes widening in disbelief. There sat something so terrifying… A man, no.. The remnants of a man.. A skeleton with some melting flesh and an abundance of wires with a feeding tube to keep him from 'dying'. 'This is sick.. What is this thing? Is it even a human?'

"This is the result of an incomplete corpse release spell used again and again. But now that the proper tools have been acquired… We can finally complete this ritual… So it is time," Touhou chuckled again, "For you to hand over his body… and your Dead Man's tongue."

She could sense a very dark aura around him, and knew that it was up to her to keep him from coming near Shito-kun. "Don't worry, I'll protect you.. Shito!" Koyomi promised.

-X-

They had made it to the train station upon entering the next world.

"From here the trains depart to escort spirits and Shinigami to their destination. Seeing as we are in a hurry, we will use this point to find our way back to your friend." Zarame said, now looking straight at Yomi.

"Hm? Me?" Yomi blinked.

"You can sense the location of Koyomi-san's body, can you not?"

"Of course I can, Shinigami," Yomi hissed impatiently.

"If you possess Michiru-chan one more time, you should be able to open a tear from this place to link us to where Koyomi-san is," Zarame explained.

'Possess me?' Michiru mentally repeated, the image of the burned up creatures from before flashing in her mind. 'Was I possessed then? By Yomi?'

_Michiru tried to ease up the tension a little by looking down at the burnt corpses of the strange animal things and asked simply, "Oh, did I do that?" _

_After careful thought, Zarame had decided against telling her about Yomi and had shaken his head, "No. Let's go." _

She hadn't had much more time to think about the matter for Yomi had given Michiru a brief warning before everything for the lilac haired girl had gone black. 'I apologize Chiru Chiru, but I need to borrow your body again..' Yomi whispered into Michiru's consciousness.

Zarame had crossed his bandaged arms while keeping a close eye on Michiru. Since Yomi found it so amusing to take advantage of his girlfriend while he had possessed her last time, the Reaper didn't really trust the snake. Now he was making sure the damn snake would be good on his word and locate Koyomi like he was supposed to.

"Well?" Zarame asked.

Michiru opened her eyes, the olive orbs glazed over with an unreadable look, "…Ch.." Yomi grinned through Michiru darkly, "You are right… This place is connected to everything.. I can even feel Koyomi-san…"

Zarame focused on the girl and ignored every stare they received from the wandering shinigami and spirits trying to locate their respective trains. He knew what they were about to do was breaking the rules. But they were in a bit of a hurry and couldn't just sit on a train and wait for their stop. They needed to create their own way out, and directly to Koyomi before it was too late.

-X-

"We hijacked a Xu Fu plane, took a two hour flight, and now we're standing in front of what I suspect is nothing but an abandoned building!" Chika roared, glaring at Toko. "This can't be where the leader is! It wouldn't make sense!"

Toko grunted, "Would you just be quiet and have a little faith in me?" She brushed past him and entered the building in front of them. Chika had been right, it was abandoned and very old. There weren't any guards stationed around the building or inside it for that matter, something that made Toko doubt herself a little bit. 'No, I know he's here. I remember being told he was here, and couldn't be moved anywhere else.' She thought.

"This way, huh?" Chika murmured next to her, causing the girl to jump a little.

Toko nodded to him, "The room.. the room I remember is this way." They turned down a hallway, tall doors waiting for them just at the end of it. "You see those… I used to be taken there when I was little… They used my blood to…to.. Feed that monster…" She bit out.

Chika looked at her nervously and nodded, "Alright, I can see why you'd pick this place to look for Shito first."

They had run down the hall and burst open the doors noisily, easily catching the attention of those from within. Just like the previous A-Loan member had said, Shito was in this room. Not only him, but Koyomi and that squinty eyed Touhou as well. And Koyomi… She was bleeding!

"I-I'm fine.." She gasped, gripping her shoulder painfully.

Touhou was not amused and frowned deeply at the interruption, "You, boy?" It was enough that the girl whom possessed the Dead Man's Tongue was a damn priestess that could put up a fight. But to have Shito's companions actually go to the trouble of locating them so easily? 'All because of that Toko girl… That little brat! She is ruining everything!'

"I won't let you harm Tachibana-san and Koyomi-san!" Toko proclaimed.

"Humph, silly girl. You can't do anything," Touhou snorted, charms and seals already in hand.

When they had been thrown, Toko had placed herself in front of Chika and blocked them with her own seals glowing brightly pink, "I'm stronger now, Touhou! I can defend myself from you!"

'Is there something I'm missing?' Chika half wondered, though he dared not to speak aloud about it. Instead he moved so that he could get passed the two Taoist's but was immediately stopped by Touhou.

"Did you really think you could get passed me? Heh heh, now I suppose you'll have to watch as I rip your friends tongue out and leave her to bleed to death on the floor," Touhou chuckled.

'What is he..' Toko thought, and then she looked down and gaped in amazement, 'H-he wasn't fighting me at all! It was to distract me while he made this huge seal on the floor!'

Sure enough, the entire floor where the two stood was covered in an intricate seal that froze the two Z-Loan members in their places. "Now that you are comfortable," Touhou continued haughtily, "Watch as I remove the tongue of your friend and feed it to the new vessel of the head of the Xu Fu, Lao Ye."

Koyomi whimpered in fear, her eyes locked in terror on her friends trapped in the circle then back to the limp body of Shito in the chair. 'I c-can't let him hurt Sh-Shito..!' The priestess thought. 'B-but I haven't had my powers in years.. And it's so hard to focus them.. Oh no, he's coming this way!'

"Now then my dear, no more playing." Touhou grinned sadistically.

Koyomi clenched her fist, sparking spiritual powers attempting to form, 'I can't… control it… I feel so weak..' She was gasping for air, 'I need Yuuta-kun… and Yomi-san… Shito-kun…' She clenched her bloody shoulder painfully.

'Shito-kun.. I will protect you.. Because I love you!' She mentally yelled.

"_Koyomi-san!" _

Touhou sighed in exasperation, and turned to see Chika and Toko staring at the floor, 'Where did that voice come from?'

Chika was panicking and yelling in protest as a hand had shot out suddenly from a rippling floor to grab his leg in a painful grip. "Koyomi-san!" The voice shouted. Sparks of clashing powers fought to prevent the girl from continuing to pull through, however she was stronger then that, and had hauled her body out of the floor proceeded by a very infuriated Grim Reaper.

"Gopher?" Chika mumbled, "Shinigami?"

Toko looked down on the floor and blinked in astonishment, "Michiru! Your appearance is disturbing the flow in energies! The circle has been broken!"

Not even aware of the fact she had done so, she had shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and gasped at her surroundings. A white snake curled around her shoulder to also observe everything, hissing when it noticed the blood pooling on the floor from the injured woman near the Touhou man. "Michiru-chan! Koyomi is injured!" Yomi hissed.

"Go to your friend, Michiru-chan," Zarame said with a nod.

"Right," Michiru agreed.

Before Touhou could even manage to protest, Michiru had disappeared in a flurry of feathers before his eyes and reappeared behind him, livid. "Get away!" She commanded, giving him a swift kick to the gut. She watched with furious olive eyes as he tumbled back holding his stomach, and glaring at her hatefully. There was no way in hell she was going to let him hurt her friend again, that was damn sure!

Zarame had appeared next to Touhou with a smirk and proceeded to kick him as well, sending him sliding against the floor and into a wall. He side glanced Michiru, mentally telling her that he had her back covered.

Michiru had nodded and shifted so that she was leveled with Koyomi, "Koyomi-san, I found Yomi-san for you.." She said, gingerly taking Yomi and placing her on her friends shoulder.

"Arigato, Michiru-chan," Koyomi sniffled.

"Gomen, but I must leave to help Zara-kun," Michiru apologized.

The injured miko simply shook her head and waved Michiru off, "Go help him. We'll be fine now."

Without another word, Michiru was gone.

Ya gotta love how the girl can poof out so easily…

Yomi sighed and looked at the angry wound on his counter parts shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yomi.." Koyomi smiled weakly, "You're really back."

"Hai."

"Onegai, we need to save Shito-kun… I.. think he's lost somewhere…"

"Allow me to be one with you again, and I promise to do my best," Yomi vowed.

"Arigato Yomi," The priestess smiled, blood trickling out of the side of her mouth and down her chin. The two had fused once again together, causing Koyomi to pass out and her body to crash against the blood stained floor.

No one had noticed, safe for one, the appearance of a little girl with a stuffed bear. She had walked back into the room she had left earlier, only to look around in confusion. She held her bear closely and blinked lazily at the battles that were raging over the control of one vessel. Behind her, were two soulless dolls that awaited orders from their master patiently, oblivious to the gaping girl nearby. "This isn't the way out," She spoke meekly, looking up at a long haired Taoist.

"Zen-kun! Shuuji-san!" Toko couldn't help but yell. She frowned slightly when they didn't respond to her voice, and proceeded to angrily shout, "What did you do to them?"

Noticing that the long haired girl was addressing her, the little girl had answered quietly, "Hu? Nothing really.. I just loosened their contracts a little… They're consciences weren't needed…"

'She must be a Shoreman!' Toko grounded her teeth, "You give them back."

The little girl tilted her head, "Naughty, they're my Jiangshi," She spoke tonelessly.

"I don't think so, those boys belong to me!" Toko claimed, withdrawing seals from her pockets threateningly.

From innocent to pissed in two seconds flat, the little girl sunk her right hand into her bears head and grasped it tightly, "... I have the power to alter contracts… If you won't leave me alone…" She twisted her bears head, some stitches beginning to be pulled, "Then I will loosen the ties of.. not your consciousness… But those negligible ones… _of your life_." She spoke the last words with pure malevolence and tore the head clear off her bear.

Toko's eyes widened in horror, 'Wha-' She felt a shock run through her entire body before falling first to her knees then collapsing on her side motionless.

Chika had become aware of Toko hitting the floor and felt a tug in his chest, something that he thought he'd never feel for the previous A-Loan member, _worry_. 'But why would I..? No now is not the time!' Chika shook his head and observed his friends. Michiru and Zarame were fighting together, Koyomi was passed out, Shito looked unresponsive and Toko was also out for the count. He was torn between helping Toko and going over to his partner. Well wait, the only way he could possibly help Toko would be if he had his Katana.

Shito it was!

Looking down at his right hand he had clenched it before running towards his vegetable partner and the passed out Koyomi. He side stepped Touhou, who was having a hellova time with the tag team, and slid home when Shito was close enough.

"Yo, Shito you ass! Wake up and gimme my hand!" Chika shook his friend's shoulder, receiving no response. And here he thought the prissy baka would actually wake up and want to kill him. 'Well shit!' He mentally cursed, "C'mon you stubborn prick, wake the hell up! What's wrong with you? Can't you hear me?" When his partner still refused to snap out of it, the white haired man had grunted and ripped off Shito's hand without his authorization, and exchanged it quickly to form his katana, "I knew it, you are a spineless pretty boy! Cheh!"

Still nothing from him.

Nothing at all.

The normal Shito would have at least called him trash. Or pathetic… or both…

And would have most definitely shot him by now.

"Whatever pretty boy, you just keep sitting there and feeling sorry for yourself while your friends here risk their lives just to save yours. You're such hypocrite—" He punched Shito across the face, "—Shi_tooo_!"

-X-

"…_Shito…"_ A familiar voice whispered in a call.

'Leave me alone,' He mentally replied back.

"…_Wake up…"_ It called again.

'I don't want to go back.'

"Tachibana-san," A new voice interrupted, one that was much louder than the other.

His dull eyes lifted from the safety of his knees to look at the one who spoke to him so politely. His red orbs widened when he felt a warmth envelop him from behind and whisper his name again in his hair. 'Who… What is this… warmth…' He thought, relishing the softness against his bare back.

"You must return, they're all waiting for you," The female voice was music to his ears.

'Chizuru...?' He half thought in a daze.

-X-

It was like a bolt of electricity had struck him to his senses, and suddenly he could hear more clearly the other voice that had been calling him. That annoying, cocky, little voice…

"…_You're such a hypocrite Shi_toooo_!" _

"Chi…" He struggled to speak, since he was punched in his jaw not too long ago.

The porcupine boy stepped back cautiously, a slow grin working its way on his face.

"Chi…ka?" Shito turned his head slowly to look up from his seat on his chair to the man whom had aided to wake him up from his stubborn slumber. Blood had seeped from his lip where Chika had managed to pierce the skin with his punch. He was gasping slightly for breath, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

A moaning sound had caught both boys off guard and made them break their gaze to look down at the injured Koyomi now sitting up. She had a dreamy look on her face before she winced and grabbed her bleeding shoulder again in pain, "Mmm? Did Yomi do it…?" She looked up at Chika then back at the equally shocked Shito still sitting in his chair. She blinked once, twice, then a bright smile emerged as she beamed, "You're okay… I'm so happy… You're okay…" She sniffled.

"K… Koyomi-san…" Shito murmured in surprise, quickly looking up at Chika when the boy B had spoken up.

"Oi, we need your help. You can't just let squinty eyes and this Lao Ye dude control you! We need your help to stand up to them." Chika stuck out his left hand, holding Shito's right hand in his grasp, "So, are ya just gunna sit there or are ya gunna help us?"

Shito looked from Akatsuki to Koyomi-san, to Kita-san and Zarame-sama fighting Touhou, to Toko collapse at the feet of a little girl and two hunched boys. He closed his eyes in thought, a smile forming on his pale lips, "Hn." He looked up with a glint in his eyes. He had grabbed his right hand quickly from his partner suddenly standing next to him and attaching it to his wrist. "We have work to do," With that, he formed his pistol in a flash of green light.

The little girl holding the head of her teddy bear looked solemnly to the boy that now stood in front of her with a katana pointed at her face, "Hm? Do you wish for the thread of your life.. to be cut as well? You pitiful creature.." She reached for an arm of her teddy bear.

"Nah, I just want you to let those guys go, and to return Toko's contract," Chika grinned widely.

She growled, "I don't want to deal with you.." She had sent her two boys forward, both now barring their respective weapons.

"Bring 'em on."

Zen was locked in a blade to blade fight with Chika, both swinging and fighting wildly while Shito took care of Shuuji. In moments, Chika had torn open Zen's chest and knocked one sword out of from his hands. It seemed that without their conscience, these zombies couldn't quite make the correct educated moves to defend themselves. That or they just didn't give two shits if they were torn apart.

Zen looked up with wide blank eyes and a laughing smile, his one sword raised as he barreled at Chika.

Yeah, these things definitely didn't care how much they were torn up… This would be fun…

Meanwhile Shuuji had gotten shot at least a couple times in his right arm by Shito, the Tachibana boy cursing the other zombie for his high tolerance for pain. 'I need a better plan,' He leapt away from some oncoming bullets, wincing when one clipped his cheek. 'Perhaps I should relieve him of his weapon.' He ran head on, and flipped over Shuuji as he pulled the trigger on his machine gun. "You're mine," Shito muttered, changing his position and kicking the A-Loan male in the back of the head.

The two A-Loan zombies landed in a heap over one another soon after, Chika and Shito now both looking at the girl and pointing their sword and pistol at her.

Groans of protest were heard behind the two boys, and they turned in time to see the brainless zombies trying to stand up and fight again.

As quickly as they got up, was as quickly as they fell. Just like that. Slumped on the ground motionless. Amber and red eyes had exchanged looks of confusion and both stared back at the girl in question.

What the hell?

"Debt collectors!" Piped a cheery voice.

"We're here to get our money now…" Said another voice.

The little girl was frozen in her spot, raising her fingers to her mouth in worry and fear, "…Brother…"

Chika looked over and saw that Yuuta-kun and Bekko-san stood next to each other a little ways away. Bekko had turned his gaze on the girl Chika and Shito had been about to fight with and had regarded her with a familiarity.

"I've told you not to call me that in public… And here I wanted to see more of you… But your acting naughty.." Bekko-san pushed up his glasses and sighed, "Well, we need our guys back now."

She stood and didn't speak, only stared at him, "…"

Next to Chika, Toko had just sat up suddenly. At first she was surprised, then she smiled at the white haired boy kindly and then glared at the girl, "Well then… I guess I'm not so dead after all.." She patted her chest and looked over herself. Nope, no wounds. She noticed Shito and had also greeted him with a nod.

Bekko-san's younger sister had gaped, "How can this be? I cut your string…"

"Guess you just cut the wrong one," Toko shrugged, taking Chika's offered hand to help herself up. "Arigato, Chika-kun." She blushed a bit then forced it away when Zen and Shuuji began to stir behind them.

The first thing Zen saw was Toko's beaming face, he was fortunate. Unlike Shuuji…

Shuuji woke up to a wide smiling Yuuta with KenKen and KonKon, "Welcome to Z-Loan!" He sang.

"Thanks… Senpai…" Shuuji blinked.

Zen looked a Toko in disbelief, "Huh? Why does it feel like I haven't seen you in awhile?" He asked in a mumbled.

"Aw, Zen-kun!" She hugged him happily, "I'm so glad you're back!"

Off to the side, Touhou was standing still with a binding soul seal on Zarame-sama and struggling to keep Michiru at bay. He had her under a seal as well to bind her, but she kept snapping through it. 'Where does this strength come from?' He half wondered with a frown, sweat actually forming on his forehead. He had taken notice to Shito's revival and the appearance of the Ferryman and his Secretary. 'This has quickly become out of my hands… Damn this girl..'

Everything was over… His plan failed.

With a sigh of defeat, he had actually unsealed the two lovers and shaken his head, "Fine, I give in…"

Shito had even managed to find his way back to his mother, just as she was standing.

Yes, this was where his mother had been kept all along. He had actually found out when they first arrived before Touhou had managed to get into his head and render him useless. The twisted Taoist had confused the zombie and pushed his mind into a deep despair, leaving his body up for grabs for Lao Ye. From there he would take Chizuru, Shito's mother, and marry the woman that had been slumbering for years. Making things happily ever after for the Xu Fu leader.

Or so he thought.

He hadn't taken in the possibility of two homicidal Reapers showing up to claim their friends.

Now Shito could be with his mother, his contract was set for her, and they could be happy. Touhou had given up and there was no way Shito was afraid of the old rotting man any more. So this was it for him! Shito had his arms ready to finally hold his mother once more as she stood and took her first step, her first smile in years… And just like that her limbs had separated and turned to dust. Her beautiful eyes gazing at Shito one last time before she completely disappeared from this world.

'No… Chizu….ru..' His thoughts froze. Just as he finds her, is informed about a new loan for her life, she is taken away from him permanently. "But why...?" He felt a hand on his shoulder but was in too much shock to fuss about it.

"Gomen Tachibana-san, but your mother was never meant to remain in this world. In fact, she had left it a long time ago," Yomi now spoke through Koyomi, standing effortlessly without paying any mind to her bleeding wound, "Yomi understands it now."

"I don't understand, she was with me before—"

"No," Yomi interrupted, "Your mother ended her life a long time ago. Her soul had crossed to the other shore of the river of the after life. What remained in this body was nothing more than remnants of her soul, her essence." He explained, "What you experienced was an illusion. She was never real to begin with."

'All my efforts… the debt I took to turn the both of us into mortals… It was all for naught.' Shito thought in his frozen state, having completely missed Touhou's appearance behind him.

"Mm, too bad this happened now. I was planning it a bit differently," Touhou mused to himself in a murmur. Though since he was standing behind Shito, it was obvious the boy had heard him. "It's unfortunate, but despite this set back, things can still work out in my favour…" Before he knew it, hands were around his throat, and he was staring in the depths of blazing red eyes of rage.

"You…" Shito grinded his teeth then dropped Touhou and shoved him away, "No, your are not the one to blame…" He formed his pistol and marched over to the centre of all the hell that had been happening in his life. All because of one man and his greed… Lao Ye. Pulling the safety of his pistol back he had aimed it at Lao Ye's deteriorating head, "Because of your stubbornness… Tch!"

Michiru grabbed Zarame hand and squeezed it, 'Poor Shito-kun..'

His hand was shaking as he held his pistol, but not out of fear. He was done fearing this piece of trash, which got him thinking, "No," He dropped the pistol and turned away, "Heh, an unworthy lowly life like yours deserves this... I will let you live out your remaining years as you are, you worm." He didn't look at his friends as he passed them, only dematerialized his pistol in a glow of light.

The sound of ripping flesh and liquid splattering the floor had caused everyone to sharply turn their heads to the source of it, safe for Bekko-san whom remained uninterested in the matter entirely. There stood a very satisfied Touhou, hand still suspended through Lao Ye's chest, crushing his heart. He had a sick smile on his face and even went as far as letting a small chuckle escape his lips when some of the crimson liquid had dripped from his cheek from the splatter. Withdrawing his hand, blood stained his clothing and dripped from his hand onto the worn out floor.

Shito was flabbergasted, "Tou..?"

"You're right. We wasted so much time on this old geezer's stubbornness. His greed… However it all ends now with this. Today, the age of us restrained as Touhou has also ended," He explained with a smile. "I've been waiting for this moment for years, ever since my father and I planned it all those years ago. Heh… For a very long time our clan had to pretend to obey this old idiot while secretly looking for a way to freedom." He looked down at his bloodied hand and almost giggled in delight, "If it weren't for Shito-sama escaping to Japan, my father would not have had to sacrifice himself in order for us to prove our loyalty to the Xu Fu. You see they had begun to doubt us when you left," He eyed Shito, "That all changed when my father and I hatched a plan, which forced me to kill him."

"That's why you killed uncle?" Toko whispered hoarsely, feeling Zen grab her hand in comfort.

'Her uncle, the one who got her out of the Xu Fu..' Chika thought.

"Yes, that's why I killed him. The plan was to prove our loyalty and remain here until the proper moment when the ingredients had come to complete the Corpse Release Spell. We had planned to give him his every wish, and then take it away from him just as quickly. Make him truly feel despair," He sighed and glared at Michiru then, and her boyfriend Shinigami. "That is, until you came along and ruined it."

Zarame sneered at Touhou, "Never give that look to my woman again, _Taoist_." He stepped between Michiru and Touhou, his scythe in hand. His amethyst eyes had narrowed on something of interest though, something around Touhou's neck. 'Hn? It seems as if we will be seeing each other again, very soon,' He inwardly grinned.

"Humph, well it works out anyways. Lao Ye had gotten to see his dream nearly form in front of his eyes. And just as he thought he would receive his new body in moments, it's taken away from him with his bride turning to dust," He nodded, and cringed slightly when he felt a searing pain begin to work its way across his skin. "And now this," He looked as his hand and smiled anyways. 'Damn it..'

Shito's shoulders dropped, "Demo Touhou… By doing this means…"

The blood from the floor and the bleeding corpse acted as if it had come to life, wrapping itself around the Taoist, creating deep dark marking all over his skin.

"Didn't you know? Lao Ye used a blood oath to control the Touhou clan. Your body will be covered in curse markings, and then spread to your kin! You will all die!" Shito shouted in rage.

"Haha," Touhou chuckled still staring at his hand that had completely turned black, "I've already lost my right hand to it," Again he shrugged, "Do you know why I contacted the Ferryman?" At Shito's blank look he continued, "Not only to revive Chizuru, but to allow my children to live on. This curse will end with me, and only me. So Goodbye, Shito Shao Ye, you may leave and do as you like. Your role for this ritual has come to an end. Although you were meant to place that geezer in his happiest moment and die along with him, it seems that fate thought it best to let things turn out this way."

He relished the sight of the dead body for a moment longer before turning around and walking towards the nearest exit. He only gave them a final smile, one that was for once very sincere, and then left them.

Loud coughing had aided to cut the tension in the room, all eyes now looking at the ferryman in question, "Now that this little thing is wrapped up," He gave everyone a very serious look, "I'm here to collect my fees now."

Chika's sighed in irritation, "That's all you came for? Didn't you come to save us?"

Bekko-san snorted, "Hardly, I already told you that I don't accept late payments. So if you wish to die, then die _after_ you've paid me my fees, otherwise I will lose money." He pushed up his glasses, "However if you can't pay them right now, return to Japan and work for my firm for free."

Chika and Shito had both beamed at the Ferryman, Michiru joining in with a faint smile as well.

Yuuta giggled as he wrapped Koyomi's shoulder in a golden glow, "The place has been awfully quiet since you loud guy's haven't been around," He said loudly.

"Say what?" Chika snaped.

"You know, it wouldn't be so loud if you had better manners and didn't yell as much," Shito began.

Oh dear god, even in a happy moment when they win the good battle, they couldn't just get along?

"Mind repeatin' that, you shit face?"

Nope, not at all.

"Now your having hard hearing in your old age, porcupine?" His pistol was drawn.

Oh kami, they were not going to remain for this.

"You're one to talk, jiji." His katana was also poised.

Koyomi had bounced up with a big smile on her face, "Koyomi feels like getting ice cream!" She announced, dragged an equally excited Yuuta-kun with her.

"Ooh! I want some too!" Toko squealed.

"Great! I'm buyin'!" Koyomi cheered.

Everyone had left the building safe for the arguing partners and Michiru with Zarame. The lilac haired girl had dropped her powers and returned into her robe of the Yoitsuhara clan. She smiled brightly at the auburn haired man, "Are you going to join us, Zara-kun?"

He wanted to, really he did, but he had some work to do. And he wasn't about to let some half wit do this job, "I will join you and your companions shortly."

She had nodded knowingly, "I saw it too… Just come back to me soon, ne?"

He had grinned sexily at her, making her legs feel weak. Kami how could he do that to her with a single grin? Damn him…

"I won't be long Michiru-chan," He promised.

She kissed him deeply, a devilish smile of her own forming when she pulled away, "I'll order your favorite." Then she left him there, standing with a bit of a dreamy look on his face while he watched her forcefully drag the two partners out of the blood scented room to get ice cream.

The Grim Reaper shook his head lightly and looked back at Lao Ye, his scythe still drawn. He had narrowed his eyes on the body, the black ring around his neck very visible at this time. 'Finally, your time had come..' Reaping his soul had been so fulfilling.

And now for the next one..

The Touhou male.

It took a moment to find him, but he did. The cursed man was sitting in a chair in another room of the building, and laughing to himself, of all things.

"Are you laughing at the face of death, ningen?" Zarame questioned smoothly, approaching Touhou slowly.

"Shinigami? Hu… I wouldn't laugh at death that would be insulting. I am laughing at myself, in relief actually. Now my two boys will grow up without this curse… It all ends here."

The Reaper raised his scythe slowly, "You are correct, it does."

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**A/N Minna-san, I know it isn't as long as the other chapter, but I still updated! I hope you guys liked it! And in case you haven't notice, I have been basing lots of stuff from the manga, only I'm pretty much telling the story my way with Michiru-chan coupled with Zarame-sama and all badass and stuff. Haha, anywho, R&R please!**


	10. Reaper's Interest

**Disclaimers: I do not own Zombie-Loan**

**A/N Thanks for you reviews! So sorry for the lateness! Please enjoy!**

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 10. Reaper's Interest**

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Oh gods, everyone was staring.

Well more like glaring in actuality.

Michiru felt her old self rise in nervousness, squeaking when a particular death glare had been shot at her, almost like a green arrow of jealousy aimed straight at her forehead. She swallowed the lump in her throat and inched herself behind her companion, laughing meekly when he looked at her briefly in question. "A-ah…"

"Is there something wrong, Michiru-chan?" He asked her softly.

"N-no, of course not." She lied, feeling a fierce shiver up her spine. 'I f-feel like they all hate me for being with him.' She thought wearily.

"Michi-ru-_chan_!" Squealed one of the girls from the mob of hateful students.

The lilac haired girl ceased her steps, looking behind her to see a girl struggling to squeeze through the tightly wound group of pouting teenage girls. Her eyes lit up upon seeing her friend Yumi-chan pop out of the group and scowl at the girl to beat it. Though her friend didn't get angry often, she was not one to be crossed with. And thank kami for her appearance; otherwise the silly group of hormonal girls would have never begun to leave for their respectful classes.

"Yumi-chan! How are you?" Michiru asked sweetly, feeling immensely in her friends' dept for having gotten rid of the negative girls.

Said friend heaved a sigh and turned to face her with one of her brightest smiles. "I'm great. I also heard that you were waltzing around here with an exchange student as if you knew him. Is that true? Do you know him?"

Yes, she was at school again. And yes, she was here with Zarame-kun. Though he told her beforehand that no one in the entire building had any recollection of his last little visit here, so it was as if he was a new student all over again. Not only that, but he also pulled some strings so that he could be in most of his girlfriends courses. Which she didn't have any issues with whatsoever. Except that now… She had the entire female population hating her for even standing near the new kid. Her boyfriend.

"Hai, Yumi-chan this is Gaminishi Zarame—" Michiru began the introduction, but was curtly cut off when her boyfriend turned around and spoke.

"Her boyfriend." He stated quickly, draping an arm around the schoolgirls' shoulder as proof of such. "Yoroshiku." He stated flatly.

Yumi-chan raised her brows in surprise, but smiled nonetheless. "Yoroshiku." She replied happily. "It's about time our little Michiru-chan gets herself a man. And now that you have such a cutie, it's your turn to help me bag my own." She winked at the lilac haired girl.

Michiru blushed a bit, but nodded all the same. "S-sure." She shot a look at Zarame and tugged on the hand that was draped on her. "We should hurry to class Zara-kun. This is your first day, you don't want to make a bad impression."

"Tch, I don't mind. It's not the class that I care for." He shot her a meaningful look, a slow grin working its way across his pale lips.

The girls' friend rolled her eyes and started to shove the two in the correct direction. "Oh please, lets go you two lovers. I don't want to be late either. Move along."

Though he didn't appreciate being babied by such a young ningen, he decided to let it go considering she was his Michiru-chan's friend. So the three walked to their first class of the day, all three equally rolling their eyes when they could hear some distant yelling down the hall from them. The only cause for such a loud annoyance could come from one person.

Akatsuki Chika

'Baka'

-X-

"It's not like it was completely _my_ fault. This baka started it then these morons had the gale to come on _our_ turf and really start somethin'!" Chika bellowed as an explanation, pointing a finger in accusation at the three others that sat at the table.

It was lunchtime. And as usual, any detention Chika-kun and Shito-kun received was met with a scowl before the two skipped to go eat something. This led us to the cafeteria, where Michiru sat innocently next to Zarame-kun, across from her was Shito-kun and Chika-kun, next to them sat Zen-san, Shuuji-san, and Toko-san. Though Zarame felt a similar dislike for the previous A-Loan group, he once again decided to put up with them, keeping his murderous tendencies under a firm hold.

"I told you. Since we're all in this together, we decided to change schools. There isn't anything wrong with that." Toko spoke up in her groups defence, shooting glares at the white haired boy.

To say that the rest of the cafeteria was silent would be an understatement. The students here were used to Boy A and Boy B fighting on a regular basis, but with the new students? Who all knew each other to boot? Very strange…

Chika slammed his hands against the table, leaning forward towards the girl. "Like hell there isn't! You didn't have to come to this school, you should have just stayed where you were!" He argued hotly. "Instead of wrecking our peaceful halls."

"Peaceful?" Toko growled. "You call throwing a punch at Shito-san peaceful? Don't make me laugh Whitey!"

"Why you—Don't call me that you pink haired bi—"

"Akatsuki." Shito, who had been ignoring his partner to enjoy his lunch, had just finished eating, and was now grumbling up at the porcupine. "Be quiet. I would rather we left this place without having to pay for any damages." He lifted his drink and sipped it.

With a dark look, Chika had grudgingly sat down and crossed his arms in a pout. "You're lucky I don't kick your ass for bossing me around, dobe." He rumbled hotly.

Michiru sighed in relief, grabbing Zarame's hand for some comfort. 'At least they're half decent today.' She inwardly huffed, about to smile at her friends when suddenly, the door to the cafeteria bursted open. There stood the angriest principle of all time, his teeth clenched and eyes roaring with ferocity.

"_Akatsuki_! _Tachibana_!" He yelled, face fully red in fury.

Heh. Guess skipping detention had its limits!

"Excuse us." Shito stood quickly, as well as his partner next to him. Both nodded before making a mad dash to the other cafeteria doors, all current students within the room staring as they left. Shortly after their departure, the enraged principle had followed suite and gone after them, again slamming the door open and closed in his wake.

"Mou, that spiky haired baka gets into a lot of trouble these days." Toko commented lightly, taking a sip of her juice.

Zen nodded in agreement. "Are they always like this? I thought they would at least be respectful on school grounds." He frowned.

Michiru smiled at the previous A-Loan group. "This is how Chika-kun and Shito-kun are around each other all the time. Not even school can change their habits."

"This will be an interesting term." Toko grinned lopsidedly.

'Indeed it will.' Zarame mentally agreed, eyes flashing briefly to Michiru.

-X-

They were staying with them at the dorms. The previous A-Loan group.

Chika-kun threw a fit, as per usual.

Shito-kun merely glared and shrugged his shoulders.

Koyomi-san was more than happy to make new friends.

And Michiru was… well she was okay with it. She didn't have much to complain about considering she had Zarame by her side most of the time now. Until Shiba was caught anyways, things would be like this for some time. 'Shiba… I can't believe the countless times he's escaped us. Poor Zara-kun is stressing over it, I can tell. He may not show his emotions often, but I am quite capable of reading him now.' Michiru chewed her bottom lip in thought, peeking next to her to observe Zarame.

She was sitting in the living room with him and Toko, the three working on their homework. Yes, Zarame had actually taken an interest in some of his studies. Particularly in his history course. He seemed especially interested in the project they had been given concerning a new topic they were exploring. It was adorable, seeing the Grim Reaper's attention being focused on school activities.

"Is there something wrong, Michiru-chan?" Zarame raised his amethyst eyes from his papers and book to look at her. Again, his face remained blank of any emotions, the perfect poker face.

The lilac haired girl blushed rosy and shook her head, looking up at him with her pretty olive eyes. "Iie, it's nothing. I was just thinking." She said quickly, feeling a little warmer when he leaned closer to her, almost nose to nose. This was his way of intimidating her sometimes. It generally made her turn into a puddle of goo having him so close, but since she had been with him for some time, this little trick of his only caused nervous flutters in her stomach and a gentle increase in her heart rate.

Okay, so she wasn't _that_ immune to his looks. But still! She was getting better!

"You do realise, you can tell me anything that is bothering you." He said in that gruff, deep voice of his, brushing one of his pale hands against her flushed cheek. "Michiru-chan." He finished with a small smirk.

Michiru opened her mouth to say something when they were rudely interrupted by a booming voice from a white haired boy. Even Toko jumped a little in her seat from the sudden appearance of Chika-kun, shooting him pouting glares at his behaviour. Soon after, Koyomi-san had even entered with a bottle of fantan and Shito-kun at her side to make sure she didn't fall over from her drunken sugar rush.

"Yo! Yo!" Chika chuckled loudly. "I've got news!"

Zarame merely rumbled in displeasure at the interruption, giving Michiru a small peck on the cheek sweetly. He sat back in his seat and returned to having his poker face, waiting for the loud idiot to speak more on this so-called 'news' he held. 'This had better be good.'

"And why couldn't you tell us this news at dinner Shiro-chan?" Toko pointed out bluntly. "I've got homework to do you know!"

"Tch! Quit calling me that!" Chika narrowed his golden orbs at her, but calmed himself quickly. "Feh, anyways. Like I said I have news!" He cleared his throat. "We have been signed up for the school festival this year!" He bellowed with a gigantic fake smile plastered on his face.

Toko saw through this and sighed. "What you mean to say is that in order to not get a suspension, the principle forced you to take on an extra curricular activity. And you forced us into it too."

Shito nodded briskly. "That is precisely what occurred."

All eyes were on Chika, some angry while others were excited.

Chika took in the looks and pointed an accusing finger at Shito. "O-oi don't blame me! It's his fault! We'd be suspended instead of doing this crap if it weren't for him and wanting a perfect damn record!"

"I do not like to tarnish my name." Shito was quick to defend.

Amethyst eyes bore into Chika, the Reaper even more annoyed now that this moron involved him in his problems. "Are you saying that I am included in your shenanigans, _boy_?" He nearly hissed.

"Ev-ver-y body can do it! Ev-en-hic-Zen and-hic-Shuji-senpai-hic!" Koyomi giggled, leaning into Shito more, her cheeks flushed prettily. She continued on in a mumble, occasionally giggling and rubbing her cheek against Shito. No one paid much attention to her afterwards, deciding it to be best to ignore her crazy behaviour.

"Ano sa, what event are we doing together?" Michiru asked a bit excitedly. She had never participated in any school functions before since they were highly discouraged by her guardians.

Chika paused in thought. "Uhm, I think a school play. I don't know which one, but the roles will be chosen by lottery!" He piped, rushing up to her and grabbing her hands, his eyes going starry. "Are you actually interested in this, Gopher?"

"Uh huh!" Michiru giggled, sitting up more and in turn giving him a determined smile. "We could have so much fun!"

"Ah…" Chika continued to look all puppy eyed, then asked. "So can you find a way to bail me out of this?"

Her mood had dropped, and she stared at him blankly, "E-eh? Ch-Chika-kun I can't do that—"

"Bah! You're hopeless!" Chika roared, dropping her hands to go and ask Toko the same question, not even getting a chance to do so since she had given him a good slap across the face.

"Don't touch, teme." She growled, grabbing her school things and storming from room.

The room was silent after she left, leaving the white haired male to speak first. "What's with her?" Chika asked in frustration, turning to the couple on the couch for any ideas. However all this did was show off the bright red handprint vividly displayed on his left cheek.

Zarame chose to simply snort and turn back to his textbook, mentally cursing the white haired boy for his silly antics. He was placidly surprised to feel the weight of a hand on his shoulder, his eyes looking up to catch Michiru's innocent green orbs. She had removed her glasses and put them on the coffee table so that she could lean into Zarame and nap for a while. He smirked, opening one arm up to let her nestle herself into his chest, his arm wrapping securely around her afterwards. He then returned to reading his book and ignoring the rest of the world.

Chika made some sort of choking noise at their display of affection, then high tailed it out of there before the Shinigami could have the chance to turn him into a Popsicle, or worse. 'Heh heh.' Chika mentally chuckled, a wide grin tugging at his lips. Who knew he could get away with teasing that arrogant dick without even getting a scratch! Michiru-chan definitely was a piece of work, being able to chill him out and all. 'This place would not be the same without those two around, heh…'

"Guess I'll go find those other A-Loan losers to tell 'em the great news." His face suddenly paled though, and he stopped in his tracks. 'Holy shit.' He thought in horror. "I forgot I picked up an extra shift tonight! I'm late!" He yelled, bolting for the opposite direction to get the hell to work.

'Guess I'll tell them later!'

-X-

The next day, the group had remained after school to help with the preparations of the up coming festival. Though Shuji-san and Zen-san were never told why they were staying behind, they were later informed by the head of their department who sprang into action the moment every member was accounted for.

"Hello everyone! My name is Ameru Momo! You can just call me Momo though, okay? Great!" She beamed, her pale, long blond hair bouncing with every movement that she would make. She seemed nice enough, but she could also easily get on any one's nerves. And just as her eyes began scanning the crowd for all the participants, they had landed themselves on a handsome crimson haired male who bore and indifferent expression. 'Oh, and who might he be?' She thought inwardly with a smirk.

"Momo-senpai!" Shuji-san lifted his hand up to wave to the older student. "What exactly are we doing here?" He asked boredly.

Next to Zarame, Michiru peeked over at Shuji, smiling a bit timidly. Looks like Chika forgot to tell them after all… 'That's just like Chika-kun.' She thought with a small giggled.

The blond haired, hazel eyed student mock gasped and giggled at Shuji's question. "Silly, you're here for the festival right? And for our event, we will be putting on a play!" She waved her hands to the black board behind her, motioning to the written notes. "All characters will be chosen by lottery! And since I want to make thing interesting, one by one, each student will come up and pick a name and link it to one of the characters written down here!" She pointed to the participants names which were all linked with a line and mixed up in a maze of lines that all connected to various characters in their play.

"We're here for the festival?" Zen said in a murmur, eying Chika darkly. The two exchanged glares at each other while Momo continued.

Momo smiled brightly. "Now then, our play is Snow White!"

There were loud gasps of excitement that engulfed the classroom, and several giggling students as well as chuckling males. All delighted about the selection, Momo was quick to have them line up to choose a name at random that was not their own to see who would be the characters. When suddenly one of the students at the chalkboard asked who _Gaminishi Zarame_ was, and all eyes turned to the crossed arm individual with crimson hair.

"Hn? What do you want." He stated more then asked, making the other student a bit nervous.

Since the boy was too nervous to speak, Momo-senpai had stepped in and spoken for him. "It appears that our Snow White had been chosen! To you Gaminishi-san!"

…

"…" Zarame remained silent, his widening eyes the only form of shock written on his face, which had quickly disappeared and been replaced with his usual mask. "Tch." He turned his head to the side, ignoring the giggling of the female students and Chika's bellowed laughter that could easily cause an earthquake. There was a faint dust of embarrassment on his cheeks, but that was quickly removed when the Witch Queen was announced.

"Akatsuki Chika, The Evil Step Mother!" Momo applauded happily.

Chika choked on his laughter and turned a lovely shade of pink when the girls started to stare at him next. 'Aw crap…' He looked away in a pout, feeling the Shinigami ahead of him grinning in pure satisfaction. 'Asshole…' He mentally shot at him.

The process of choosing characters had continued. Shuji having been picked to be part of the prop making, while Zen and Toko were two of the seven dwarves. Shito had been picked to be one of the forest animals, something that was also laughed about when it had been done. Koyomi was chosen to be part of the dwarves, and finally Michiru was left with one of the main roles, which made her very nervous.

"The almighty Prince, Kita Michiru!"

"Eh?" Michiru looked up at Zarame.

The Shinigami seemed to relax a little, now that he was sure that he would not be kissing anyone other than his Michiru-chan. 'However I am still very wary of this Ameru Momo character. She has been watching me carefully ever since she walked into this room.' He thought with a small frown, but shook it off lightly and grasped Michiru's hand. "Omedeto gozaimasu, Michiru-chan. It seems you will be my opposite in this event."

Michiru nodded with a bit of a smile. "I-I'm happy, but… I hope you don't mind your role too much Zara-kun. You do have a lot of lines to know."

"Oh?" Zarame cocked his head to the side.

"Didn't you know?" Chika piped up next the Reaper. "The Play is named Snow White for a reason."

Zarame turned to look to Shito for more clarification on the matter, hoping the male knew what they were all talking about.

The blue haired male nodded. "Snow White is the main character, and thus has the most lines in this play." He explained.

Appearing from nowhere, Momo had surprised the group with her screechy, overly high pitched voice. "That's right! Our very own Snow White has the most lines! Now do your best, out there!"

With her being so close, he had been forced to back up along with Michiru for some much desired breathing room. Zarame had refrained from growling at the woman and instead grunted at her, shooting her a hateful look for having gotten so close to him without his permission. 'She is not to be trusted.' He noted, his amethyst eyes following her as she turned and walked back to the front of the room to calm all the students down.

She had made more announcements, and clarified that anyone without a role on stage would be responsible for what would be happening back stage instead. This included the props and costume work which some of the on stage characters could help with, though their main focus was to know their lines before helping out with other tasks. There would be fittings for the costume to make sure they were of the proper measurements, and wigs were already at their disposal for all the characters.

"We will be meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next while to work on our props. Characters! You must practice your lines at home! Preferably if you could find time to meet up and do it together, that would be great! We will also be rehearsing here, but I want you to start as soon as you receive your scripts. That will be at the next meeting tomorrow!" Momo announced, her blue eyes sitting on Zarame and Michiru suddenly. "You two!" She pointed at them.

Michiru squeaked in alarm while Zarame remained as he was, watching the woman cautiously.

"I want to make sure that there's real heat and passion in this play. You two must absolutely work the hardest to make the audience truly believe you are in love with each other!" She yelled enthusiastically.

Behind the two, the rest of the Z-Loan group, including the ex A-Loan members were all grins and chuckles, informing Momo-senpai that it wouldn't be a problem considering they were already an item. "The issue will be getting them to keep their hands offa each other, ne Shito?" Chika laughed, earning a nod of agreement.

"Yea." Zen decided to add with a small look of distaste. "I remember catching them in the hallway the other night—It was nasty—"

"Zen-kun!" Toko hissed with a bit of a blush.

"What!" Zen pouted, insisting that he hadn't said much of anything.

This caused a bit of an uproar in the room, all the girls getting all giggly, others jealous of the lilac haired girl. Even some of the males were patting Zarame roughly on the shoulders, telling him things like 'way to go' and what not.

"Fine fine!" Momo-senpai howled. "Quiet down! Since you are all a little too excited, you are dismissed for the night! Have a safe trip home and I will see you at our next meeting tomorrow!" She yelled.

All happy to be released of this madness, the group had split up to go home. Zen and Shuji were interested in hunting, so they left the group to go find some trouble. They had of course dragged Toko with them since they wouldn't dare ask Michiru while Zarame-sama was around. So with one last glance at Chika, something that had not gone unnoticed by someone else, Toko had grudgingly left with the boys.

Koyomi had piped soon after that she was going to pick up some food for dinner, asking for Shito's help to carry home the groceries. The pair had gone off in a separate directions leaving Chika-kun with Michiru and Zarame. This gave Michiru the opportunity to bluntly state. "I think Toko-san has a crush on you, Chika-kun."

Both males stopped walking, equally confused at her words.

"…Nani?" Chika asked in a low, disbelieving voice.

"What makes you think this, Michiru-chan?" Zarame also asked, showing interest in this matter.

'Neither noticed?' "Well…" Michiru looked over at Chika, and smiled. "She looks at you just like Zarame looks at me… Very discrete in her display of emotions except with her eyes. I think she likes you very much Chika-kun, but hasn't really realized it yet."

How was it that this innocent little girl could speak so wisely at times and yet be unbelievably clumsy the next?

"Th-there's no way.." Chika murmured.

Michiru shook her head. "Yes there is. Maybe you should just pay more attention to her, or—" Just as she continued on walking, she had successfully tripped over her own feet, shrieking when she was about to fall flat on her face.

See? Clumsy.

Zarame had obviously caught his girlfriend long before her face could come into contact with the cement, giving her a raised brow look with an amused quirk at his lips. "I told you, you don't pay enough attention to where you're walking."

"Mou." Michiru blushed. "Y-you don't n-need to tease me about it, Zara-kun."

Chika snorted. "Jeez Gopher, watch where ya going next time." He walked up to her and ruffled her hair with a wide grin.

"O-oi!" The girl squeaked in protest.

Michiru went on in her frustrated small voice, trying to stop Chika-kun from teasing her while Zarame stood back and let them have their little childish spat. He smiled at his girlfriends flushed face and drooping glasses, about to picture her in a different way when he felt a small feeling a the back of his neck. Recognizing this, he had dropped his smile and turned his head to look at the cause of this interruption, his eyes catching a small shadow partially hidden a couple blocks away in an alley.

'Hn? We are being followed.' He couldn't quite see by whom, but he knew enough to consider it no threat at all. He couldn't pick up any signs of it being a zombie and brushed it off as nothing but a nuisance. He returned to his girlfriend and broke up their fight in favour of returning home. He had some work he was interested in doing, and he rather preferred to do it before going out for his evening black ring collecting. "Let's go, Koyomi-san will be done grocery shopping at the rate we are moving."

"Keh!" Chika crossed his arms and continued on in front of them. This allowed him to hide his thoughtful expression, his cheeks dusting themselves with a blush. 'There's no way she and I—I mean this is Toko!' He shook his head, deciding that it wasn't at all, remotely possible for someone as pretty as her could like him. 'Great, I just thought that she was pretty. The hell is wrong with me! Grah! There's no way I like Toko! I mean there's no way she likes me!' His eye twitched.

'Shit, I'm screwed, aren't I?'

-X-

"I _refuse_ to read this."

Oh yes, it had already come to be the next evening, Wednesday night, and the scripts had been handed out. Zarame flat out refused to play the role of a woman, feeling that the character was much too idiotic for his taste. Similarly, Shito had a problem with his role. Actually, more like he found it to be more embarrassing than appropriate. He had agreed to be a deer, but not one that would squeak and make all sorts of 'friendly' noises.

"You have to, you are Snow White."

Materials to begin stage making were handed to the students. Costumes measurements were also taken from all the cast.

"She is weak and childish, speaking to animals and singing with birds. I refuse."

It was a cloudy day, so what better way than to spend it inside practicing roles and working hard?

"You refuse and _they_ get suspended. That's right, I know why they're here."

…

"Tch."

So much for a good start.

"Zara-kun, it isn't all bad. Come on, why don't we practice in the hall?" Michiru tried, a small smile on her lips when he nodded at her request. He rarely turned her down when it came to an offer to be alone together. She also knew well that it would take a lot more convincing to get him to practice the role of Snow White, let alone perform it.

"Yeah, go on. Try to convince him hm?" Momo waved them off, deciding to look at the progress of the other students.

Zarame hadn't wasted a moment to grab Michiru-chan and yank them both out of the class. Intent on escaping this place, he decided to continue down the hallway, Michiru making small protests behind him.

"Ch-chotto matte! I said the hall, not out the school—"

"I simply can't remain here. I refuse to play that silly role—"

"Zarame-kun!" Michiru stopped in her tracks and tugged him back. "Stop."

He stood still for a moment.

She sighed behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso and hugging him from behind. "Don't be angry, please? This is meant to be fun, not humiliating. Everyone is working hard, and besides, I get to be your opposite. Isn't that enough to be happy about?" She asked gently, hugging him a bit more tightly before letting her arms drop. She was soon pressed firmly against the lockers with his body moulded against hers, a small gasp of surprise escaping her lips. 'Z-Zara-kun..'

"Of course I'm grateful." He whispered hoarsely in her ear, nuzzling his nose into her soft lilac hair. "I am merely having a difficult time adjusting to this odd life of yours." He lightly kissed his way down her jaw line and up to her lips apologetically. "Gomen nasai, I didn't mean to make you unhappy." He caressed her cheek with one of his cool hands lovingly.

Her cheeks burned with heat, making her olive eyes seem brighter than usual. "Z-Zarame…" She began with a stutter. "We shouldn't be doing this out here. Please, can we rehearse?"

"Hn." He contemplated it. Only for a split second though before his lips began to devour hers in a hungry kiss. He grinned to himself when she returned it, the kiss quickly becoming rougher and heated. The one hand that had previously been on her cheek was now at the back of her neck while the other wandered down to her waist and pulled Michiru against his body tightly. In response the usually shy girl had groaned and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him further against her lips. He broke away from her due to lack of breath but did not halt his actions. Instead he kissed his way down her jaw and neck until he reached the junction to her shoulder, caressing it deeply.

Michiru gasped at the sensation, a shiver of pleasure running through her body. "Zarame…" She purred in pleasure, her eyes fluttering in a haze.

With one final peck, he moved his way back up to her lips to kiss them one last time roughly. He broke away suddenly, speaking. "Let's practice our lines, hm?" He smirked at his flushed girlfriend.

Still in a bit of a daze, Michiru mumbled in discontent. "That was… Mean."

He chuckled, tugging her forward as he stepped back to give them some room to practice. He'd have to make some effort today if he wanted to do this again with her at the next meeting.

"Let's begin Michiru-chan. First page."

-X-

Momo-senpai was in the middle of concluding their meeting for night when a flicker of a familiar feeling stirred within Michiru. Next to her she felt Zarame stiffen at the sensation and turn his head briefly to look outside just as she did. It had been a while since either of them felt a strong sensation such as this. Not an ordinary zombie, but a highly skilled _illegal_zombie.

Unfortunately_ not_ Shiba.

But maybe… someone just as close to his strength. Someone freshly created.

"I will go." Zarame murmured first, ready to excuse himself from the room.

"No." Michiru turned and hissed swiftly. Zarame was an important member in this group. He needed to listen to Momo-senpai's speech more than she did. "You stay, or Momo-senpai might get angry." She reasoned in a whisper, catching Chika and Shito's attention suddenly.

"Eh? What's going on Gopher?" Chika hoarsely whispered, leaning forward in his seat to get closer to her.

Shito, who had been wearing his glasses and taking notes (why he would be taking this so seriously no body knew..) had removed his glasses and regarded the girl with a serious look as well. "Is it a zombie?" He asked softly enough that only she or Zarame could catch it.

Michiru nodded sharply but quickly added. "Not Shiba…" So that Chika wouldn't freak out in the middle the class. She fidgeted in her seat as she waited for her team's answers, even Zarame's. When she looked up at him, she could see him struggling with the idea of letting her go by herself to tackle this zombie. She opened her mouth to argue more when Momo had finally loudly shouted an end to tonight's work.

"Sayonara!" She bowed.

There were floods of different answers and goodbyes to the elder student as everyone rushed to escape the classroom for the evening. Slowly, Michiru squeezed her way through the crowd to leave with Zarame, but felt him get jerked back roughly into the classroom. When she was in the hallway she stood up on her toes to find him, but could only see a mop of blond hair and crimson hair next to each other further back in the room.

"Jeez! What's the rush!" Koyomi whined as soon as she was freed of the crowd. She turned around when she spotted Michiru-chan, bobbing her head to the side inquisitively. "Eh? Michiru-chan? What are you doing?"

"Senpai pulled Gaminishi-sama back into the class to have a word with him." Answered the drawled out voice of Shuji.

Zen agreed with Shuji and added, "I saw her grab him pretty hard, looked like it was important what she had to say."

Michiru clenched her teeth together in irritation. She didn't have time to be waiting around like this when she knew and could feel that new zombie rousing trouble. She could have sworn her ears perked at the sounds of giggling, something that no one in her group was currently doing which left…

"Oh? Looks like Momo-senpai is being extra nice to our Shinigami—" Chika began but had been hit over the head by his partner roughly to silence him.

"Shut up, baka." Shito growled threateningly.

"You can't keep that loud mouth of yours shut for two seconds, can you?" Toko darkly remarked at the boy.

Chika narrowed his eyes and howled back. "Look who's talking!" He then inwardly added. 'And Michiru says she likes me! What a joke. Toko only has one interest, herself!'

"Excuse me?"

"Uh guys…" Zen laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head uncertainly. What could he do to help smooth things over with his partners? He sighed and opened his mouth to speak more when he was interrupted by a loud screech from within the classroom. Naturally the group had turned to investigate the noise within the room, and that's when they caught, or rather saw Zarame pressing Momo-senpai roughly against the chalk board, the elder student looking a bit flustered while the Shinigami looked to be a bit ticked off.

However what looked like one scene to one person, another took in differently. To another, this scene could easily be mistaken as that of passion, Momo-senpai flustered and flushed from something Zarame-sama could have said or done. 'He wouldn't do that, not to me. Th-this must be a mistake, o-or… I just don't…' Michiru shook her head and gaped at them, her eyes landing on the woman who would soon be incinerated if she dared to approach her.

Without a word, she had turned from the scene and pushed her way past her friends to walk to the nearest empty space. She found the girls' washroom conveniently placed near their location and quickly sheltered herself within it. When she was positive no one was around she had transformed into her alternate form, her white wispy cloak completely covering her as did her furry hood.

The doors to the washroom had bursted open only seconds after Michiru entered, the olive eyed girl catching glimpses of Koyomi-san and Toko-san's worried faces. Blinking, the two were gone as she swirled out of the room in a flurry of her white feathers, mentally apologizing to the girls before leaving.

"Michiru-chan." Koyomi squeaked, exchanging anxious looks with Toko.

-X-

After the student had scrambled away, Zarame had rolled his shoulders to loosen them up, feeling a bit less stressed out now that the annoying blond girl was gone. 'Did she truly believe I would allow a relationship to form between us? Baka.' He snorted, turning and exiting the classroom with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

He felt a large pressure wash through him just as he reached Michiru's friends, assuming that the girl had simply gotten impatient and left without him to go hunting. Apparently though, he had been mistaken. Toko and Koyomi had rushed out of the washroom and pushed past everyone to get to him, both looking very concerned.

"Michiru-san just left!" Toko said first.

Zarame narrowed his eyes. "Aa, I felt it."

"Ya well didn't you feel how miserable she was?" Koyomi had surprisingly growled. "Don't you know anything about girls?"

"What are they talking about?" Zen whispered to Shito, out of earshot of the girls.

Shito merely shrugged, "Women are very sensitive. I believe she may have hurt feelings." He muttered in response, though not sounding entirely sure of his answer.

"Well that Momo did look like she was hittin' on our Shinigami." Chika added in his normal tone, catching the Reaper's attention with his words.

It was like he had finally understood them, realizing now what the situation within the classroom may have looked like to her. 'Does she doubt me that much?' He frowned at the thought, looking up at the women whom stared at him for his answer. He sighed and removed his hands from his pockets, his fists clenched. "I see. Michiru-chan was made to believe something entirely untrue. I understand now." He loosened the tie around his neck, his shirt opening up slightly.

"Then if you 'understand', go and get her before she blows up the city!" Toko yelled at him.

Chika was quick to jump in and grab the angry girl before she could say anything else that would piss off the Reaper. As annoying as this girl could be sometimes, having her frozen in a block of ice wouldn't be helping anyone. "Chill Toko. The Gopher wouldn't be dumb enough to do that. She said that there was a strong zombie around here so she's probably just venting on it."

Toko had struggled against his grip, but had frozen when he mentioned the zombie Michiru had gone after. 'Wait, what? She had felt that without even casting a spell? H-how did she do that?' She thought in confusion, biting her lip. 'I never knew she was that strong. I-I mean I knew she was but… This is just so weird to get used to.' She finally looked up and caught Chika's strange gaze on her, raising a brow in silent question. 'What is he looking at?' She finally noticed how close they were, and flushed in embarrassment. "L-lemme go!"

Chika quickly let her go as if she burned, coughing to hide his blush. 'Shit, what was I doing?' He inwardly cursed himself.

'Michiru-chan hunting while she is upset may not be the greatest idea. Despite having done nothing wrong, I can see why she would think so. Especially since that blond girl had some intentions of her own.' Zarame-sama looked up at the group and nodded. "I will watch over her until she calms. Please return home and do not worry over us."

"I doubt any will. Just return home in one piece." Shito said with a small smile.

Koyomi had turned to him when he spoke, feeling her heart race a bit faster. "Sh-Shito-kun." She practically floated to him. 'If Shito-kun believes in him, then so do I.'

"Right then, guys washroom is this way." Zen chuckled, jabbing his thumb in the correct direction.

Because changing into his shinigami form in the middle of a hallway with surveillance cameras wouldn't be the greatest idea in the world. 'It would be best to remain hidden from the rest of the ningen population. Drawing attention to myself would make things rather difficult.' He nodded to the group in thanks and made his way to the boys' washroom, taking note in the back of his mind of closeness of that Toko girl next to Chika. He inwardly chuckled, finally seeing what Michiru had said before, and shook his head.

"She was right after all."

-X-

She lifted her arm, pointing her blade in an upward motion. It glowed warmly, filling the space with its light as she guided the lost souls to the other side. Blood dripped down her cheek and stained her white clothing in splatters. She ignored it, choosing to focus more on her guidance than her minor injury. When the last of the souls had crossed, she had lowered her curved blade, her face indifferent.

"Guidance complete."

This zombie. This freshly created zombie had not wasted any time choosing its prey. Already three other victims had been chosen and unfortunately crossed over by Michiru. Whoever had chosen this person as the candidate to be an illegal zombie was really beginning to irk her. He had been strong and tricky. She realized shortly after barely avoiding getting her eye taken out that he was worth her keeping herself on her toes. She had been right before when she had sensed him. He had been like Shiba.

Cocky and powerful. Minus the whole Reapers core and all.

The girl was also beginning to notice some strange fluctuations in this world that she had not felt before. Shrugging, Michiru decided to think about that later and possibly discuss it with someone else.

Till then, she had some much-needed anger to blow off before she accidentally set fire to something (or possibly someone). Luckily for her these zombies had been clustered together within a warehouse somewhat near a water source. With all the targets put to rest and such a large and fairly empty space at the girls disposal, she was easily able to blow off some steam by simply sitting and letting her anger boil out of her system. Whatever doubts she held she let them slip away as she breathed out, the air rapidly heating up around her.

Inhaling, she pictured her friends arguing with each other, as always. Something that always brought some happiness to her heart.

Exhaling, she imagined Zara-kun standing a little too close for comfort to that pretty blond girl, staring at her with his deep amethyst eyes—

_Inhaling_, she erased all negative images from her head, and replaced them with her happiest moments.

Exhaling, of course most of those moments were spent with Zarame.

Inhaling _deeply_, she mentally tried to convince herself that he would _never_ do anything to purposely harm her feelings. He cared for her too much.

One final exhale, and she felt all of her anger melt away. She opened her eyes and observed her surroundings blankly. She was just feeling jealous, she mentally concluded, something that was perfectly natural to feel in this stage of a relationship whenever your boyfriend would get near another woman.

'Uh, I think I might have turned this place into an oven.' Michiru thought meekly, almost feeling the urge to laugh. Well, the only way to fix this was to either fetch her boyfriend or open all the doors and windows to air the place out. 'It's very strange how so many of these zombie's like to be in places like these.' She thought when she stood up and brushed some of the dirt off of her clothing.

Then in a blink of an eye, all of the windows and even the doors had been opened, the white clad girl deciding to leave the bodies as they were so that they could be found and given a proper burial by someone. Besides, they couldn't do any harm with all their souls properly guided. 'At least they shouldn't be able to.' She cast a look back to the four limp bodies in the back of the warehouse, shaking her head for thinking such things.

She left the location in a swirl of feathers and reappeared on a rooftop downtown, surveying the city for any abnormalities that needed to be wiped out. 'There aren't very many around. I wonder if that was why it was so easy to sense the other one?' Her olive eyes flickered around wearily, the student feeling a bit tired suddenly. 'I shouldn't have exhausted so much power trying to cool off. I—' She shifted, her eyes shooting to the side quickly when she felt a disturbance behind her.

'Shi—' She tried to move, and had done so in a blur, but not without getting nicked. Her lower back had been sliced, though if she hadn't moved like she had, she was sure she would be dealing with a wound much worse right now. Her clothing tinted themselves quickly in red, including her wispy cloak. She winced from the wound, her mind rapidly thinking up ways as to how he had moved so swiftly. "Shiba…" She spat the name out venomously.

"I'm willing to bet you're confused as to how I appeared so quickly?" He grinned, sitting his scythe against his shoulder. He laughed loudly at Michiru's impassive face, his eyes lowering to her bloodied clothing. "My my, I did quite a little number on you. Too bad you noticed me though. I could have cut you in half and ridden this world of your odd existence. Too bad." He mused, lifting the scythe off his shoulder.

'His speed had never been an issue before! What is he doing?' She mentally cursed. She kept a close eye on him as he moved, swearing under her breath when he ripped a whole into the fabric of this dimension to enter a new one. When he had disappeared behind it, it had sealed up, effectively revealing how he was moving so unpredictably. 'He's ripping through the dimensions! He could appear anywhere!' She realized, feeling a bit worried now. 'Is that the reason behind the odd disturbances? Has he been mastering this trick?'

"Where will he attack next?" She mumbled. "From above? Bellow? Right or left? Or Behin—" She gasped, feeling cool metal pressed against her neck.

"Yes, I can attack from just about anywhere, isn't it great?" Shiba had once again emerged from a portal behind her, his scythe curled around her neck. "Now even you can't win against me." He teased, pulling him blade a little more tightly against her neck.

"Now then, I'll be taking that core of yours _Amaterasu-sama_."

Michiru swallowed nervously and glared behind her as best as she could. 'Over. My. Dead. Body.' She inwardly swore, her eyes flashing with flecks of gold.

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**A/N There you have it. I hope this is okay, I mean it should be. What do you guys think of the whole Snow White thing? You just know something is going to go madly wrong during this play, something always does. Haha! Well R&R!**


	11. Reaper's Frustration

**Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N I am SO sorry for how long it took to get t his out. But here it is, FINALLY. Hurray, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And I look forward to your reviews… Right? –big anime eyes-**

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 11. Reaper's Frustration**

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"_Now then, I'll be taking that core of yours __**Amaterasu-sama**__." _

_Michiru swallowed nervously and glared behind her as best as she could. 'Over. My. Dead. Body.' She inwardly swore, her eyes flashing with flecks of gold._

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She needed to think fast or she was going to suffer more than likely the most intense pain she would ever experience. At this point in time she also really did not want to know what would happen to her body if said core were to be ripped out. Would she die? Or become a chibi like Zarame-kun used to be?

'I don't feel like finding out.' She ground her teeth together and lit her body with a powerful blaze of heat, successfully separating herself from the false reaper boy in an instant. She leapt to the far side of the rooftop, forming both her weapons in a glow and holding them defensively.

Shiba hissed at the sudden burning heat that had charred his clothes and partially his skin. "Quite the move. And here I thought you were going to try and raise those blades of yours at me instead of setting me on fire." He patted his sleeves, his face twisting in distaste. "I did like this jacket…"

The white clad girl watched him carefully, never missing a beat. She wouldn't let him come that close to her again, even if it meant playing his game. "You could always stop what you're doing and hand over the Reaper's core peacefully Shiba-kun. I won't have to kill you if you play nice."

The boy glanced up at her, clearly uninterested. "Cheh, if I wanted to hand it over, then I would have done so ages ago." He laughed lightly. "I like this power. And little Chitose-kun's power too. Wouldn't you believe it's actually very convenient?" He smiled lopsidedly.

It seemed all too suspicious to Michiru that he would tell her such a thing. While keeping her senses sharp, she had felt a small disturbance behind her. She had shifted her body to the side quickly, barely missing a dart launched by the smiling boy. She inwardly growled at him for trying such a low thing on her. But then again he seemed to like the cheap shots. "You fight like a coward."

"And you all too well." Shiba snorted. "But lets be serious for a moment, shall we? I didn't come out here just to fight with you." He played with his scythe nonchalantly for a split moment until he rapidly appeared in front of the bloodied girl, clashing his blade against hers violently.

Michiru bit back a gasp and held her ground firmly, feeling the burn of her wound trying to hold her back as she struggled against Shiba. She grunted when the blade was pushed further near her face, which alarmed her. The small flecks of gold that once speckled in her olive eyes were now lit with a brighter glow. With her new found determination, she had begun to push him back.

"Then why the visit?" She yelled, finally pushing the blade back and swinging one of hers to cut at his torso. She had narrowly missed him with her blade, but had definitely hit him well with a kick. Satisfaction at forcing him to lose his breath had brought a grin to her face. She then shot forward and appeared behind him, delivering another kick this time to his back. As he was falling forward she decided to try and pin him, then maybe she could beat him senseless. "Did you really think you could take my core?" She all but barked.

Instead however, the boy had gripped his scythe tightly and formed a rip in the dimensions. When she dived to follow him, the hole had sealed up and he had gone. But as expected he had re-emerged from behind. "Gotcha~!"

With both her blades at her side she had maneuvered them in time to stop him from touching her with the scythe as well as his makeshift weapon made of ice. She abruptly hissed though, feeling the smallest prick in her arm as she tried her best to dodge the flying dart that had materialized from nowhere. It had not scratched her too deeply, which was a surprise at first. Then she started to feel the real effects of it. 'Kuzo, it's a… tranquilizer.'

"I told you I had you~." Shiba winked in amusement, catching Michiru as her legs began to give out beneath her. Her weapons were gone, as were his, and he set the girl down gently on the rooftop with that same smile on his face. "It is so fun fighting with you Michiru-chan~~. I do adore it and I just can't help but want to pick a fight with you. So no, I was just playing about the threat of your core. But here's the thing, as I said before I've decided that I'm here not just to fight with you but to give you a little warning."

Her vision was blurring little by little, but she could still hear fine. She had only suffered a small dosage from the dart since it grazed her. "Wh-whaaah?"

He formed a small dagger made only of ice in his hand, toying with it as he spoke. "I'll be quick since clearly the drugs chosen were maybe a little too potent for you." He brought the dagger down against her soft cheek, dragging it along.

"You see, with all these illegal zombies poking around and you all slaying them, there have been small tears in the Akashic Records. These tears are forming because of the amount of contradictions being shaped in this world. You can talk to Bekko-san about it if you'd like for more details. Anyways, all you need to know is that if this keeps happening then all our fun will get ruined. Those Shoremen are starting to get pissy about this and may make a move to erase you all just to repair the Records." He made a pouting face. "I enjoy doing this far more and don't like the idea of being hunted by idiots like them. So I'm currently betraying my side to tell you this because ARRC wants the Shoremen to come after you all and I don't."

She couldn't feel the blood dripping down her cheek she felt so numb. She couldn't even move her lips and her head was feeling very heavy. 'I can't.. Give up. I don't understand what's happening. I need to stay…awake.' She mentally cried, barely aware of something fiercely nearby. 'Za…Za…me..'

"Seems our precious time is up. Until next time my darling." Shiba withdrew his dagger and leapt away as a tidal wave of ice had formed between him and the girl. He chuckled at the furious eyes of Death, mockingly turning his back on him and tearing open a hole in the dimension, leaping to his safety. "Ja~."

Once the true Shinigami was sure that infuriating boy was gone, he had turned back to Michiru, kneeling next to her to assess the damage. "Michiru-chan! Oi!" He scanned her body quickly and noted her heavy lidded eyes. Grabbing her by her shoulder he had lifted her body to him and transported her elsewhere, leaving his usual trail of black feathers behind as well as the ice.

-X-

"I thought you said you were going to watch over her _Shinigami_!" Chika bellowed, ready to rip the red head a new one for this.

"Hn." His glared matched the porcupine easily. "I am not required to explain myself to the likes of you." He stated with a growl.

"Oi, fighting won't solve anything dobe." Shito spoke up, giving Chika a firm look. "Yuuta-san will be out shortly from Kita-sans' room. So be quiet or I might just have to shoot you."

The white haired boy opened his mouth to argue loudly and hotly when behind him the door to Michiru's room had abruptly been opened. Turning back, he was ready to ask how his beloved Gopher was doing when the Reaper had beaten him to it first. He shot the red head a fierce glare and grunted in annoyance.

"She's going to be fine. I found some weird drug in her system, which was what brought her down in the first place. Her other injuries really aren't bad since she can heal pretty fast." Yuuta smiled brightly. "Mah, I will inform Bekko-san about this and see if he can stop by tomorrow, ne?"

"See to it." Zarame muttered, walking frigidly past the boys to go sit by Michiru's bed.

"Ah…" Yuuta-san looked up from the Z-Loan boys and back to the Shinigami. He laughed a bit at Chika disgruntled face when he was forced to brush some frost from his uniform. "Well ja matta!" He giggled, leaving them to it.

Chika childishly stuck out his tongue at the passing boy, earning himself a smack on the back of his head for being such a baby. "Aiie! I didn't deserve that you dick(beep)!" He snarled back at his partner.

Shito merely ignored him and stepped forward passed him as well, leaning over to check on Michiru's health silently. She looked peaceful as she slept. Her glasses had been removed and her clothing changed into pyjamas (luckily Touma-san had been around to change her). She had a fading mark on her cheek, which was the only indication that she had been in a tousle. It hardly looked like anything had touched her.

"How did this happen? You never said who she was fighting with." Shito finally asked calmly, looking up from the sleeping girl to read the unreadable Shinigami.

"Hn." He only blinked every so often to show that he was listening, but did nothing more. He was sitting as still as stone in his school uniform. The tie hung loosely around his neck while his shirt remained opened. He amethyst orbs were solely locked on the sleeping girl, and frost had just barely formed around his feet. "I believe it is her tale to tell." He murmured finally. "However I will say this." He glanced up briefly to look at the boys, the animosity showing quite brightly in his eyes. "That insignificant human boy had been there when I had arrived and had disappeared all too quickly."

"Ningen ka?" Shito repeated turning slightly towards his partner. "Do you mean to say Reiichirou?"

Chika had visibly stiffened at the mention of the name.

A snort was heard from the Shinigami. "Aa." He replied in affirmative, the Death God now shifting most of his attention back to his slumbering girlfriend.

"Humph." Shito crossed his arms. "He is more comparable to an Akuma rather than Ningen." He turned to Chika and nodded to him. "We should go and help Koyomi-san with dinner Akatsuki. I'm sure Shinigami-san would prefer to be left alone with Kita-san at the moment."

Chika nodded mutely, the two exiting the room and closing the door after themselves firmly.

Once he knew they were safely down the hall, Shito had spoken up. "What do you propose we do about this Akatsuki?"

"Kill him. Once and for all." The boy had crossed his arms behind his head and leaned against them with a small sigh. "He's our enemy. The one thing standing between us and our freedom.." He reasoned calmly, earning a small nod from his blue haired partner. And so the two continued walking in silence, until Chika had abruptly brought up a new topic. "Ne ne Shito, since when do you call Koyomi by her first name anyways? You don't even do that with me!" He glanced over with a sneaky grin on his face. "You two are seeing each other, aren't cha?"

"Ch!" There was the faintest, light pink dust on the cheeks of the well-dressed boy. Something only ever seen if he happened to have drank a little too much.

"Eh? So you really are?" Chika shouted in disbelief. 'What the hell! Is everyone getting hooked up but me?' He thought with dread. He dropped his head in shame, a blue cloud of despair hanging over him. "Mou, this isn't fair. I want a girlfriend…"

By now they had reached the kitchen where Koyomi was happily cooking dinner while the Ex-A-Loan-wannabe's sat at a table. Zen was currently playing a match of chess against Shuji while Toko sat next to the shorter boy reading her book. She had looked up briefly to acknowledge the boys entering the kitchen, and then shot a bizarre look at Chika.

"What's with him?" She asked aloud.

Both Zen and Shuji had looked up from their game in interest. "Is that a thunder cloud?" The shorter one commented, pointing a finger at Chika.

The partner of the gloomy boy shrugged. "I don't care to get into any details." He stated, looking over to the very happy Koyomi bouncing around the burners of the stove. She seemed to be in the process of making pasta sauce for the group. "Are you in need of some help preparing dinner Koyomi-san?"

"Nah nah!" Koyomi waved him off with her usual smile. "Daijoubu! I can handle it! It's my turn to make dinner tonight."

"I already offered to help her but she told me the same." Toko said, her head now back into her book. 'Even though I know that tomorrow is her turn to cook, not today. Michiru-san was suppose to make dinner tonight.' She mentally added as an after thought. 'I wonder how she's doing.' She had absently dropped her book back against the table while she thought of their injured comrade, not even noticing Chika approaching her until he was standing next to her with his face much too close to hers. "Heh?" She turned her head slightly, a blush coating her cheeks.

"Ne Toko, you're a girl."

Her eye twitched in mild annoyance. "What of it?"

The white haired boy had grabbed both her hands and knelt down on the floor with the cutest puppy eyed look he could muster. "Would you be my girlfriend?" He asked sweetly.

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All movement in the kitchen has ceased.

All eyes had been turned on the two. Some mouths even hanging open.

"…Eh..?" Toko managed to squeak in mild alarm, her face threatening to burst into flames she was blushing so much. "W-what? W-wh-why—you—u-uh—" She continued to stutter, gaping a bit at his forwardness.

"Onegai?" Chika asked, puppies and kittens with big eyes flashing like a background behind him.

"W-we haven't e-even gone on a d-date!" Toko kept with her stutter, feeling pretty dumb for looking so bashful in front of her friends and teammates.

"Then we'll go now!"

Next thing everyone knew, the two had left the dorms entirely.

Koyomi stared out the window with a questioning look on her face while she watched Chika drag Toko-san away for their 'date'. "Ano… Shito-kun, what's going on with Chika-kun all of a sudden?"

"I'd rather not get into the details." He spoke again, deciding to ignore his eccentric partners behaviour for now. "You're water is boiling over." He pointed out to the girl, smiling a bit when she had cried in alarm and lowered the heat on the water.

And then all things resumed as per usual for the evening.

-X-

'Michiru-chan..'

He held onto her warm hand and waited quietly next to her bed. It had been hours since he had brought her back to the dorms and yet she hadn't moved a single muscle since then. He desperately wanted her to open her eyes and smile up at him like she usually did. 'Her aura hasn't changed. So that fool truly did use a powerful drug to sedate her.' At the thought of Shiba, Zarame's eyes had gone into a rage. "If you hadn't…" He started to mumble, looking back down on his girlfriend.

"Michiru-chan, if you hadn't blocked me… I could have found you sooner. Were you so furious that you didn't want to see me? I could have helped…" He trailed off. 'I should have been there to protect you.' He pushed a hand through his messy crimson hair in frustration. "Gomen nasai Michiru-chan. This is entirely my fault for upsetting you."

The corners of the room had built up some ice from the Shinigami's pent up rage about this situation. If it weren't for his girlfriends natural warm aura, he was sure that he would have given her enough of a chill to get her sick. 'All the more reason we're a perfect match for one another. Which is why I will do anything and everything to protect you.' He squeezed her hand a little more.

'Wake up soon.'

-X-

"Here again I see…" The sound of an amused voice echoed around the girl.

_Again?_

Oh yeah… She remembered now. This place that felt so warm, so inviting. The sounds of dripping water from leaves, the smell of the fresh and blooming plants. She was back on the celestial plane. The place where she had previously met her counterpart Amaterasu-sama.

Blinking open her wide olive eyes, she had taken in the beautiful surroundings once again. "Eh.. It's so pretty here. I'm so jealous." Michiru found herself saying, sitting up properly to look at the Goddess. "But how did I arrive at this place?"

The glowing Goddess could only smile at the innocent girl in front of her. "You must have summoned yourself here."

"Oh, yes that's right." Michiru placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "I did didn't I?" She squinted her eyes slightly to remember as to why she would work hard to get here, and then she remembered. "Ah! Yes, I had been fighting with Shiba-kun. He drugged me and said some strange things."

"Strange things?" Amaterasu-sama repeated. "Such as?"

Michiru leaned forward slightly, adjusting her glasses in the process. "What do you know of this Akashic Record business? Shiba-kun had said that it was beginning to unravel due to contradictions. What did he mean by that?"

The Goddess had blinked in surprise. "Those records are the source of the fates. They hold all fates of all the humans on earth. I suppose they would begin to become damaged due to events that were not meant to occur, such as zombies. However I would never imagine that much force truly crumbling the records." She sighed lightly, extending her hand out to caress a pink flower next to her. "If the records were to be destroyed, the fates would turn animalistic. They would do anything to restore the records. So if they are beginning to fall to pieces, then it won't be long before the Shoremen in charge of guarding them act."

"Shiba-kun said something about Shoremen… So Shoremen like Bekko-san would do something? To correct this?" Michiru asked, folding her hands neatly on her lap.

Amaterasu-sama nodded gravely. "Hai, correct the problems. Although in a harsh manner. Such is their barbaric existence… They would result in a process that is called 'deletion'." She snapped the flower she had been caressing by the stem, and lifted it. "In other words, they would erase everything linking to zombies as if they never existed, including your friends." The flower she held dissolved into nothing as well as the rest of the stem that had still been left into the ground.

"N-nan desutte? I h-have to stop them!" Michiru stood up quickly.

"Matte kudasai Michiru-chan, you cannot stop the Shoremen. They will do as they are intended to." She reached out and grasped Michiru by her wrist softly. "You may have a different way of helping."

"Honto ni? Onegai Amaterasu-sama, help me find a way to protect my friends." Michiru dropped to her knees in front of the woman, tears brimming in her olive eyes. "I'll do anything to protect them and Zarame-kun."

"I understand your desires… Which truly does reflect just how much alike we really are." She smiled at the girl, brushing away her tears in a motherly manner. "It will take much of your strength, but you can help them. I promise you."

"Hai!"

-X-

"Baa-ka!" Chika's voice drawled out loudly. "You shouldn't have tried to push so hard to go today to school. You've only just recovered Gopher."

It was Thursday evening and the group was currently on their way home from school. Michiru had ended up bouncing awake that morning as if nothing had happened and had forced herself past the barricade made up of her friends to get to school. She had reassured everyone that she was fine and that the only reason she must have been out was because she was so busy chatting it up with her counter part in the celestial planes, which of course resulted in them looking at her strangely.

"_Mou, you already know that my soul is made up mostly from Amaterasu-sama." She had argued that morning. _

"_Yeah but… When you put it that way…" Zen shifted uncomfortably. _

"_It makes you sound like a lunatic Gopher." Chika cut in bluntly._

Michiru smiled weakly at the memory. It was to be expected after all. She was different from them entirely. The only person who could understand her was Zarame-kun who was currently remaining more silent than usual. The entire day he had ignored the fan girls that had begun to develop and had solely focused his attention on Michiru. She knew that he was also against her going to school but she had decided that she wouldn't waste a day rolling around in bed. School was important to her, and she really felt okay. Of course Zarame didn't believe that and so was constantly watching her like a hawk.

Michiru had risked a side-glance at him. She had mentally laughed nervously, 'A-ah he doesn't look very happy. His whole aura is feeling frosty. And he's giving me that look…' She quickly focused ahead, slowly tuning in to the conversation that was now in full session concerning Chika and his unexpected behaviour last night.

"Well it wasn't crappie, right? It was a great date!" Came the white haired males loud voice.

'A date?' Michiru mentally replied.

"Oh please, it was a pity date. I felt bad for you.. I-it didn't mean anything." Toko stuttered, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"I dunno Toko-chaaan~. You seemed pretty enthusiastic about it when ya got home last night." Zen winked at her, causing the girls cheeks to brighten.

Shuji had whistled lowly, shooting a look at his partner. "You never told me any of this. What exactly did you see?"

"Oi shrimp! If you're jealous then go get yourself your own girl. Don't go spying on others!" Chika snapped before the shorter boy could reply, the two exchanging crackling glares.

The group had stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to change to cross. The two had kept glaring at each other, not even risking blinking as if it were a contest. Though one had forcefully been pulled out when Toko had intervened.

"Alright! That's enough! It's time to cross!" She had yanked Chika's arm roughly, dragging him forward with her.

"I-itai itai _itaaaaiiii_! Do you have to pull so hard?"

"Well if you weren't acting like a two year old then maybe I'd be more gentle!"

The other schoolmates of Z-Loan merely watched while sweat drops formed on the back of their heads. Who ever had allowed for two very loud people to go out together and become a couple like this was a moron. Those two could easily blow up the world while in the middle of one of their arguments.

"Let's ignore them. They will calm themselves down soon enough." Shito suggested, beginning to cross as well.

"I'm actually surprised you didn't threaten Chika-kun." Koyomi piped up at Shito, walking next to him happily. "Or is it because you're in too good a mood to bother?"

Shito looked at her briefly. "No reason."

Shuji bent down and whispered to Zen. "You know it isn't often that Koyomi-sempai walks home with us. I bet that make Shito-sempai happy."

"Oh without a doubt." Zen chuckled loudly.

Michiru, who was behind them with Zarame-kun, had smiled at the comment. 'Chika-kun and Toko-san… Koyomi-san and Shito-kun… It's so nice to see them together. Even if they aren't completely admitting to it.' She giggled a bit and shined her warm smile on Zarame.

Even in one of his moods, nothing could stop him from feeling light and at peace like one of his girlfriends' famous smiles. He had visibly relaxed, and had even linked his hand with hers' to tug her along. "Your friends seem to be getting ahead of us." He noted.

She hadn't even been paying much attention to that and gaped a bit at the distance. 'When did that happen?' She thought. "Oh, well let's get going then!" She began to tug her boyfriend along with her through the mesh of people. Naturally she had ended up tripping on her own feet, nearly face planting on the sidewalk.

"Tch, you can be so clumsy." Zarame had sighed a bit, easily helping Michiru regain her balance before the cement could ever get near her pretty face.

Michiru laughed sheepishly, readjusting her glasses on her nose. "Eheheh, yeah but… now I have you to always catch me. So being clumsy really doesn't seem like such a bad thing anymore. Ne Zara-kun?"

"Just because I'll be there to catch you doesn't mean you should continue to be so clumsy. You really should be more observant Michiru-chan." Zarame had run his free hand along her cheek.

"Mm hm, I'll try my best. Now let's go, they're way ahead now!"

"Hn."

-X-

That evening, like Yuuta-kun had promised, Bekko-san had arrived. There was a small gathering in the living room where Michiru had explained what had happened on the roof with Shiba-kun. She then went into detail about her chat with Amaterasu-sama and had asked Bekko-san if it was true about the records and the Shoremen acting soon against them.

"Oh yes, that is certainly true. I've heard some news about it lately, not that we've been able to actually see the records due to ARRC having stolen them… But we have received news from them that they are slowly beginning to crack." He mused. "Well, either way there isn't much that we can do except capture and remove the stolen cores from Shiba-kun at this point. That's your only solution to keep from being deleted by the other Shoremen once they step into action."

"But how can we do that if he's constantly able to rip holes in the dimension and disappears?" Toko argued. "There's no way we can keep up!"

"That's not my problem now is it?" Bekko-san replied flatly. "Mah, I have an appointment to get to. I'm afraid we'll have to cut this little meeting short. Oyasumi nasai minna-san." He waved, walking past all the members in his usual hunched manner.

Heh..? Was that _seriously_ all he was going to tell them?

Chika had been ready to yell at their Ferryman for being such an infuriating ass but had been held back by his partner. He could tell that the others were just as frustrated and even risked a glance at the Reaper who sat with Michiru in his arms, his eyes bubbling with untamed fury.

'At least it's not only me that's pissed. Baka Ferryman.'

-X-

The next day at school had been a little more eventful than usual. It seemed that some random girl had begun an official fan club for Zarame-kun and as such, more screaming girls had been following the Shinigami all day. Even Chika-kun and Shito-kun had become surprised at the turn of events. Sure they had been the Kings of all the gossip happening in the school, but even they didn't have their own official fan club (luckily..).

Michiru sighed loudly on her way to her next class. She had briefly escaped the crazy mobs surrounding her boyfriend by retreating to the washroom before going to the next period. She sort of felt bad for ditching him at this point, but she couldn't handle all the gushy winks and flying hearts all over the place. She knew that Zara-kun could escape easily if he wanted to, so he wouldn't mind just meeting up in their next class. 'Well at least I hope he doesn't mind. I really don't know where all of this came from. He's just another boy, albeit devilishly handsome… But a boy nonetheless! Mou… This isn't fair—' "Oomf!"

The lilac girl had roughly bumped into someone, causing her to loose her balance and fall back on the floor with a thump. "Itai…" She murmured. 'Maybe Zara-kun is right, I should pay attention to where I'm going.' "Sumimasen… I didn't mean to—" She looked up at the clearly peeved blond that had coffee spilt all over her uniform. "Ah! Momo-sempai. Gomen nasai! I'll buy you another coffee." Michiru stood up, bowing quickly and apologetically.

Yep, she was definitely going to start paying closer attention to her surroundings now.

"Oi! Shut up already ugly!" The blond hissed, narrowing her eyes on the woman. "Not only did you steal the hottest guy in school, but now I have a stained shirt."

…

'Steal the hottest guy? Does she mean Zarame-kun?' Michiru gaped silently.

"I wouldn't stand for something like that President-san, this little girl is nothing but annoying." One of her friends voiced in, crossing her arms in a disapproving motion.

"I agree with Luna-chan. This four eyed freak doesn't deserve our Zarame-sama." Momo's other friend mused with a glare.

Michiru merely laughed weakly on the outside, but on the inside she imagined barbecuing these idiotic girls with a flick of one of her fingers. 'What is going on? I didn't think Momo-sempai was this mean. And I did apologize!' "Gomen, like I said I'll buy you another coffee Momo-sempai—"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Momo interrupted with a growl. She sighed loudly and placed her hands on her hips. "Since I'm feeling particularly kind today, I'm going to let you go with a warning, ugly. Stay out of my way and stay the hell away from Zarame."

"But he's my—"

"I don't care if he's your boyfriend. I say he isn't. Which means he's available." Momo grinned darkly. "I'll see you tonight at rehearsals, ugly." She flicked Michiru's forehead roughly and chuckled, leaving the younger student behind as she walked away with her posse.

"Uh…" Michiru blinked a couple times, wondering if that had actually happened or not. 'Is Momo-sempai the president of his fan club or something?'

The second bell rang, signalling the beginning of class.

"Ah! I'm late!" She screeched suddenly, booking it to her class before her lovely sensei decided to lock the door on her. By the time she had gotten there, she had slid in with her books in hand as the door was getting closed. 'Safe!'

Though her sensei didn't look too pleased, he had nodded at her attendance. "Kita-san, take your seat before I give you a detention slip."

"H-hai!" She moved her way to the back of the classroom so sit next to her usual partner, Zara-kun. That was one thing that he did not tolerate, was anyone other than Michiru sitting beside him. She threw her weight against her chair and breathed in relief, her glasses drooping slightly.

The boy had exchanged his gaze from the window to his girlfriend, raising a questioning brow.

She had waved him off though and had opened her notebook up to begin taking notes. 'I wonder what Zara-kun would do if he knew that I had bumped into his loyal fan club leaders, not that I know it's them but it definitely felt like it…' She hummed a bit while writing her notes. 'Strange, those girls… Momo-sempai and her friends practically just appeared in front of me like that. Eh, then again I am clumsy, I probably just didn't notice them.'

"Akatsuki! Answer question 3 B!" The sensei boomed from the front of the class.

Michiru blinked and glanced over at her friend, holding in a giggle. The idiot had fallen asleep at his desk, a snot bubble hanging from his nose as he snored. Beside him Shito-kun had his glasses on and merely glared silently.

She knew exactly what he was thinking too. Without a doubt. _'Baa-ka dobe...'_ She imagined.

"_Akatsuki_!"

The snot bubble popped loudly.

"Ehhhh… Present.." The white haired boy lifted his head, his amber eyes droopy from exhaustion.

"Detention Akatsuki!"

Some of the classmates giggle quietly.

"Detention?" Chika repeated, suddenly waking up from his daze. "OII! Matte! I can't stay for detention I've got that rehearsal crap after school already set up as punishment!"

"Urusai Akatsuki!" Sensei howled. "You should have thought about that before you decided to take a nap in my class."

"Grumpy old man…" Chika muttered under his breath.

"Five more minutes to your punishment!"

"Aw damn…" Chika slid down his chair with a whine.

"Tachibana, answer to 3 B!"

"Twenty eight." Shito answered easily.

And then the class had resumed once again.

-X-

"Stupid old man, he's got some stick up his ass. Taking out his anger on me like that…" Chika complained shortly after they had left.

"It would have helped if you hadn't fallen asleep during his lesson." Shito pointed out.

His partner puffed up his cheeks in a pout. "It's not like I did it on purpose. His voice is just so dull, kinda like yours but worse. And I'm already tired…" He earned himself a whack to the back of the head. "Ita_aiii_!" He sniffled dramatically. "Ne ne Gopher-chan, Shito-kun hit me!"

Michiru giggled sweetly behind them while Zarame merely shot him a look. "Be quiet and take it like a man." He said, though not much of it could be heard over the screeching of the girls.

"Ah…" Chika chuckled loudly. "I didn't quite catch that over the screaming banshees."

"_Zara-sama! OoooOOoo So handsome!"_

_"Back off he's mine!"_

"_Oh so cute!"_

_"Gorgeous eyes~!"_

Michiru coughed a bit, "Ano—those girl's are getting a bit grabby—" She winced when she felt a small tug on her already short hair.

Deciding that enough was enough, the Shinigami had ceased walking to his final class with his girlfriend and her companions to risk shooting evil looks at the humans.

"Hn? Don't tell me he's actually gunna do somethin' about these gushing girls." Chika said aloud.

"Seems like it." Shito replied.

Though the boy merely continued shooting his dark looks and had tugged Michiru closer to himself, shielding her from the screechy females. "I will say this once." He said in a chilly voice. The temperature in the hall had dropped suddenly as if the air conditioning had been amped up from 'cold' to 'unbearable winter'.

"_No one touches _my_ Michiru-chan. Or I'll _kill you_._" He resisted adding a growl and simply kept his tone low and dangerous instead.

For a moment, Michiru had actually believed that he had managed to scare them into silence. That is until she heard in the distance,

_"Waaaiii! So kawaiii~~!"_

_"So dangerous~!"_

_"Handsome Zarame-kuuuun~!"_

_"Ah~~! Za-ra-meeeeee~!"_

Three of them sighed while the red head merely held a dark cloud over his head. 'Ridiculous..'

"Let's just get to class Minna-san." Michiru smiled brightly, leading them to their final class of the day.

-X-

Both Michiru and Zarame were relieved by the time school had come to an end. A good chunk of the girls had disappeared by then which was great. Unfortunately though it also meant that rehearsals were about to start.

"OI! _Oiiiiiie_! Calm down!" There was a loud smack heard across the room. Instantly every talking soul had shut theirs mouths and listened to the one responsible for the noise. Momo coughed briefly before plastering a lovely and obvious fake smile on her face. "Yosh minna-san~! To the auditorium! We're going to start rehearsing there and working on costumes. Make sure all the proper measurements are taken! Any questions?"

…Silence…

"Then let's go! My main people! You guys get the main stage to practice!" Momo yelled, ushering the classroom full of students out.

Michiru swallowed the lump in her throat as she got shoved into the moving group of students. "Eh—Oomf-!" She squeaked, forcing her way out of the group to catch her breath in the hall. 'Mou, everyone is too excited for this…' She could barely see the mop of crimson locks from where she was and mentally sent Zarame her love and luck so that he would make it to the auditorium in one piece.

'Maybe I should go tell Chika-kun where our meeting is tonight.' She suddenly thought, now that she was separated from the group. She knew that Shito-kun certainly wouldn't do it and the others were all caught up with the rest of their group. So with one final glance at the distancing students, she had quickly made a u-turn to go to Chika, just to be safe. 'It would be horrible if he missed out. He really needs the practice.' She smiled, rounding a corner.

"Ooof!" She slammed back against the floor, this time her glasses flying off as well. Of course her first thoughts were 'Are you kidding? Is this _really_ happening twice in one day?' And then she looked up and saw in horror that yes, yes it was. Except this time around it was with that Luna girl and not Momo-sempai.

"Watch where you're going four eyes!" She screeched loudly. "Don't think I won't tell President-san about this! You are so going to get it." She cursed, standing to her feet. She brushed some dirt off her skirt and shot the other girl one of her darkest looks. Thinking that she had succeeded in at least scaring the girl, Luna had begun to walk away all the while laughing cruelly.

By the time the laughing had faded into the distance, the girl still on the floor had at last found her voice. "She…" Michiru began in a whisper, looking down at her fallen glasses. Luna had been dressed in a cheerleading outfit that just barely covered her unlike their school uniforms, which formed almost a turtleneck. Again she had stumbled over her words just processing what she had just scene.

"Sh-she… A black ring.."

"Zombie? _Where_!"

She looked up, surprised to find Chika scouting the area for anything that looked like it was undead. "Damn where's that moronic teme when you need a hand?"

"I thought you were in detention..?" Michiru said, picking up her glasses from the floor. She placed them back on and with the help of Chika had stood back up.

"Hm? I just got let out. I was on my way to the class when I saw that no one was there." He cocked his head to the side. "Where'd they go?"

"I was just coming to tell you that we were going to the auditorium actually. But then…" She frowned.

"What were you doing on the floor Gopher? Didja trip over your feet again?" Chika asked with a laugh.

Michiru rolled her eyes. "Iie, I bumped into Luna-san."

"Luna? Who the hell is that?" Chika asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I think an upper class man." She shrugged. "I only just met her earlier when I bumped into Momo-sempai."

"Jeez you're just getting yourself into all kinds of trouble today, as per usual." He grinned. "But didn't cha say there was a black ring? I don't see a zombie." He risked another glance around the empty school. "You're loosing your touch Gopher."

"N-no, I swear she had a ring! A black one! B-but I don't know why. I couldn't sense anything from her. She isn't a zombie and her ring was far too black to be marked for death. It's like she's already dead without being a zombie." She sniffled dramatically and shook Chika by the shoulders. "What if I am loosing my touch? Maybe my core is loosing its power. What if Amaterasu-sama is calling it back? What am I gunna do?"

"Whoa, Michiru! Maybe you were just seeing things!" Chika tried calming her slightly with a pat on the back. "No worries. We'll look into this. Who knows, maybe you're right. It wouldn't surprise me considering all the weird stuff that happens here anyways."

She sniffled loudly. "Y-you really think so?"

"Sure!"

"Yo! Michiru-san! Shiro-chan! Where the heck have you guys been?"

The two had looked up, finding Toko way down the hall. "Ah, Toko-san."

"Oi! Quit calling me that! It's Chi-ka! Or Se-xy-sama to you!" Chika barked hotly.

"Urusai." Toko stuck out her tongue playfully. "You are both late. Poor Zarame-sama is using a stick to ward off girls without you around! Plus that Momo bitch has her eyes on him too. She's about ready to rehearse with him in your place."

Chika harrumphed, muttering soft curses under his breath while he jogged lightly ahead of Michiru. She on the other hand just began to walk faster, not willing to trip or bump into anymore people again. "Coming!"

When they arrived at the auditorium, they had actually found Zarame in the centre of the stage with his script rolled up and giggling girls behind the curtains. His arms were crossed and he clearly had a pissed off frown on his face. Whether it was from Michiru not being there or the fact that the girls were just overall ticking him off, she didn't know. She just knew he looked handsome standing up there while brooding like he was.

'At least we won't have trouble filling the seats once we show the play at the festival…' Michiru thought on the bright side, a tinge of blush coating her pale cheeks. She felt her hand get pulled and was basically dragged on the stage so that she could stand next to Zarame. She nodded to Toko and inwardly shivered at all the menacing and jealous looks from the crazy girls. "Ano.."

"Alright! Places!" Momo shouted from her director's seat. "Snow white! From the top! And I want to hear singing!"

_"Waaai~~!"_

_"I bet he has a great voice~~!"_

The Shinigami frowned, clearing his throat. He merely hummed a loud tune to start with, not really interested in singing. It was enough that he was going to be dressed as a female, but was it necessary to sing? The Grim Reaper does not sing.

"Iie Snow White! Sing!"

Zarame looked up at her in irritation. "Ch, too bad." And continued with his hum.

Michiru had sweat dropped at the tension on the stage, caught between helping her boyfriend and pleasing the director. Wait, wasn't the decision evident? So she had cleared her throat as well and decided to go with it. Instead of singing with him, she had improvised her lines, hoping to find a happy medium for the two. "Oh what a beautiful sound! If only I could see the beauty who could produce such a melody." She nervously looked over at the director for approval.

The blond girl shifted in her seat and sighed loudly. "You guys are so stubborn." She began to grind her teeth and nodded. "Fine. You can hum, and we'll change the script. It'll make our play more unique anyways."

_Success._

From that point on the rest of the practice had gone surprisingly well. When Chika's parts had come to, he had the funniest looks on his face and also went as far as imitating a woman's voice to get it right. Koyomi-san, Zen-san, and Toko-san made to be some pretty good dwarves along with the four others chosen for the part. They even sang their song well too. And as for Shito-kun… Well he was an animal. All he needed to do was look pretty and make 'eep' noises.

By the time rehearsals finished it was nine in the evening. Everyone was exhausted from the constant ear breaking yells of Momo-sempai and the silly giggling girls backstage. Poor Shuji had to deal with them as he was making the props and costumes with the girls.

"I'm beat." Zen rolled his shoulders. "Can't wait for Monday." He said sarcastically.

"Don't even joke about that." Toko moaned. "No fair, I wanted to be Snow White.. Not some stupid dwarf."

They packed their things and started to head out, Michiru feeling Zarame lace his hand into hers. "Why were you late today?" He asked after all.

"Oh, I wanted to tell Chika-kun that we were moving to another room to practice." Michiru smiled. "Gomen. I didn't mean to worry you if I did."

"Tch." He looked away. "I am well aware that you can take care of yourself. I simply wish that I didn't have to ward off so many human girls. They are annoying. Especially when I can't reap them." He lied a bit, having actually worried about the girls' safety.

"Yeah!" Toko clenched her fists in anger. "One of them bitches had actually come up to me and had to gal to tell me to stay away from their precious Zarame-sama after I had talked to you and left to find Michiru-san. The nerve!"

"Jeez, did you cast some sort of weird Reaper voodoo junk on them to get their attention or what? I haven't seen them this riled up since Sotetsu attended school." Chika asked in all honesty, feeling a bit of the chill from the Reaper for even asking such a stupid question.

Zarame grunted, feeling the need to let off some steam.

"Ne, I know that look." Michiru tilted her head worriedly. "Minna-san, we'll catch up with you later." She announced to all of them.

"Huh? Where ya going Glasses-chan?" Zen asked.

They were about to leave the school grounds to head home.

"It's a se-cret~!" She tugged a smirking Zarame away, the two jogging away.

"Jeez, those two just can't keep their hands offa each other—" Chika yelped when Toko snagged his ear.

"Get your head out of the gutter, Shiro-chan." Toko muttered.

"Useless dobe." Shito shot darkly to his partner.

"Why you teme—Ii—ii-tai-tai-_tai_!" Chika whined, getting dragged roughly away by Toko.

-X-

Michiru scouted the halls, much to Zarame's amusement, before tugging them into the girls' bathroom for cover.

"You know me all too well, Michiru-chan." He chuckled.

She just smiled. "I know." She said brightly, making sure no one was inside any of the stalls before she let her power engulf her. Her neat uniform had quickly been changed into a ratty one, her arms covered in worn bandages, her boots in place and lastly a wispy white furred cloak over her shoulders had formed in a glow. Zarame had also done the same, his usual Reaper attire forming in a strong purple aura. Before anyone knew it, the two were gone instantly from the school grounds, leaving only black and white feathers in their wake.

In the silence of night, they had re-appeared outside of Tokyo where the lights wouldn't interfere. The perfect place to view the stars undisturbed. Something they had used to do back when they were training. It was the best way to unwind, and the two loved it. Zarame would hold her tightly against his chest as they sat on the highest branch of a tree. Which they were now doing. Zarame had his back to the trunk while Michiru sat in front of him, one leg dangling over the branch with his.

"I'm glad it's Friday." She sighed in relief, feeling him lower his head to plant kisses along her neck. She shivered when he had whispered hotly in her ear that he was glad as well. However, the white clad girl nearly whimpered when she felt him retreat from her neck to speak.

"I had been concerned that night when you left." He brought up, resting his head against hers. "That _boy_ could have done a great deal worse to you."

Oh, she knew where this was going.

"Michiru-chan I do not want to badger you with these questions. Yet they are necessary. You must know that I would never intentionally do anything to harm you physically or emotionally."

"Ee, I know. I was just annoyed. Momo-sempai and you… I can see she has an interest in you and I thought..." She felt him hug her more snugly.

"You thought what?"

"No," She shook her head side ways. "Never mind, it's not important. Not anymore."

"If there is anything bothering you, you can always tell me." He said softly with mild worry, kissing her head. "No matter what, I will always listen to you Michiru-chan. And…" He started in a bit of a grunt. "The next time you think it's a fine idea to block your energy from being detected by me, humour me and _don't_." He said in a deadpanned voice.

Michiru froze up slightly, laughing nervously at her boyfriend. "A-ano, I didn't mean it?" She tried innocently, looking up at him and his questioning brow. When she felt him sigh in exasperation though, she had let herself relax knowing that she had won him over. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, she turned her head a bit more and felt him shift her so that she was sitting sideways and being held almost bridal style. She was then pulled even closer before he had surprised her by assaulting her lips with his own, the girl moaning in response.

He had started out gentle, brushing their lips softly together and just barely getting a taste of her before he sucking on her bottom lip and nipping at her. He was pleased with her moans, and used that opportunity to deepen the kiss by slipping his wet appendage in her mouth, the two battling for dominance for moments until they had to catch their breath. Though the girl breathed heavily, she felt Zarame continue kissing her along her jaw line before diving back to her lips and continuing on with their little battle.

One hand held her firmly in place while the other slowly went down to caress her hip, then her thigh. He rubbed slow circles, silently willing the bandages to fall from his hands so that he could have the privilege of feeling the smooth skin of her thigh. When he had broken away from her lips once again he had trailed kisses back down her neck, adoring the taste of his beloved. He moved his lips a little further up again, barely nipping at her ear. He smirk at the response, continuing with the ministration while keeping in mind which spots made her react the loudest.

Michiru let out another pleasant noise, her cheeks flushing from a mix of mild embarrassment and pleasure. She had dug one of her hands into his crimson locks and held him in place against her neck while she began to return the favour heatedly. She brushed her soft lips against the open skin along his neck, being mindful not to get a mouth full of feathers while she was at it. She then moved her other hand under his cloak along his chest, admiring his strong physique.

"Mm, Michiru-chan if you insist on doing that I might do more than just kiss you." He purred, his breath so very hot against her skin.

She couldn't really speak coherent words, but did feel him tense a bit. He always did pull back a bit when it started to heat up around them. "Hmm.. don't stop.."

His grin lay hidden into her neck, but he knew better than to keep teasing her like this. "I've already left countless marks on you." He lifted his head from the crook of her neck and continued to grin at her dreamy looking face. "Your friends won't be happy."

"I'll j-just wear a scarf." She stuttered, finally coming back to her senses. She simply wrapped her arms around his neck now and draped her head onto his chest. She could feel the rumble of his chuckle, and smiled a bit. "I know, I know. They'll still probably see, won't they?" Again she felt him chuckle, and sighed happily when he rubbed circles against her back.

"You know your companions best."

"Well then, if we're going to get caught anyways, I hope that these marks at least stay on until Monday."

"Hn?"

"It might keep those girls away." She laughed.

He actually began to think seriously about this, and looked up at the sky in thought. "Hn, you may be right. In which case I would gladly continue—"

She perked up at this, looking up at him.

"—Sunday so they're fresh for Monday."

She deflated a bit and playfully glared. "So stingy."

He glanced back down at her, surprising the girl with the level of heat in his eyes. "Believe me when I say it's for the best. You're already irresistible to me, Michiru-chan… I find it terribly difficult to keep myself from ravishing you." He kissed her temple.

"Then ravish away." She said, still feeling beyond fuzzy and turned on from his previous actions.

"Hm, don't tempt me."

She would let this slide for now, considering they had a stupidly long day. Instead she just held onto him tightly and continued stargazing quietly, enjoying the silence.

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**A/N I hope this was good. And hopefully made up for such a long period of time without updating. So please don't hate me and send me hate mail huuuuh? –big puppy eyes- Just tell me you're glad I'm still alive and leave me hearts and kisses for reviews okay? Bai bai! –mouah~-**


	12. Reaper's Closing Stages

**Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N Alright, I've been working on this bit by bit throughout a month, so I hope it's good. Enjoy the newest Chapter and don't forget to Review at the end! P.S There is someone who will not stop spamming my reviews. If you wonderful fans of zombie-loan would like to check it out, the person is Yoshino of the Moonlight(insert of the darn numbers from the constant account making here) and keeps insisting on creating more accounts that I block because he/she will not stop messaging me. What you will see is simply my reviews, imaging what my PM inbox looks like? If you could please maybe help me by either spamming the hell outta this person or by constantly reporting it, that would be of great help, believe me. This person just won't stop. Thanks.  
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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 12. The Reaper's Closing Stages**

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"_Oi Michiru! Open up!_"

Groggy olive green eyes stared at the source of the loud voice and bangs. She let out a breath and turned over, snuggling back into the warmth next to her with a sigh. Hey wait… Her pillow wasn't _that_ big, and it certainly did not smell like Zarame—Her eyes shot open and she sat up immediately in bed. She looked down in horror at the still slumbering Reaper, one of his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

"_C'mon! My moron of a father is coming over with Momoka-chaaan~ today! There's no way you can ignore my adorable sister! OIEE!_"

Michiru squeaked when he banged on the door again, quickly turning herself to shake Zarame awake. "Zara-kun!" She hissed in a whisper. "Get up Zara-kun!"

He stirred a little, mumbling something that sounded a lot like 'annoying porcupine' under his breath. He then opened his eyes and raised a brow at his flustered girlfriend. "Shall I leave?"

"H-hai before Chika-kun—"

Said boy had slammed the door open with a glorious grin on his face. "Ohayo Gopher—!" He stopped mid sentence, looking from his precious friend to the invader and back again. "Hey! We set rules here when this guy decided to camp out in our dorms! What the hell is he doing sharing your bed? _Again_!" He bellowed, somehow drawing the attention of his partner within seconds of loudly pointing out Zarame's presence in Michiru's bed.

"It is none of your business boy." Zarame grunted back, now sitting on the side of the mattress and stretching his stiff muscles.

Michiru was sweating bullets, recalling a similar experience when both of the boys entered her room. She froze momentarily when she found Chika scrutinizing her in her pyjamas, and then his eyes drifted to her neck and whatever amount of shoulder was exposed due to the drooping garment. 'U-uh oh..'

"He gave you hickeys?" His loud voice had been heard throughout the dorms that time, for sure.

Shito had already somehow swapped hands with his partner, forming his pistol while Chika materialized his katana. Both pointed their weapons to an amused Reaper whom played along and held up his hands in defeat.

"You can leave now, Shinigami. Your breakfast will get cold." Shito stated coolly.

Michiru held her breath. 'There's no way Zara-kun would leave me with these two—'

"Hn, I know when I am unwanted." He stood up and shot his girlfriend a grin that could easily make her melt. "I will see you momentarily, Michiru-chan."

She still held her breath, not wanting to be with the boys all by herself. 'Noooooooo, please don't leave me!' She wanted to yell, but could only managed letting go of her breath as he left with his hands tucked into the pockets of his school uniform. 'Come to think of it, he really doesn't have many clothes besides his uniform and some sweats.' She thought, her eyes going glassy for a moment before the boys had broke her from her thoughts.

"The hell are you thinking! Our precious and innocent Michiru-chan is covered in hickeys and slept in the same bed as the Shinigami!" Chika suddenly started to bawl his eyes out.

Michiru scratched the back of her neck nervously, "A-ano, it's n-not like we d-did anything…" She started, even though the previous night she had clearly wanted to do more than just make out with him.

"Yes well, you are precious to us and we do not like seeing him with you." Shito spoke as he dematerialized his pistol.

She felt touched by the small confession, truly feeling like the boys were like brothers to her, and the only family she had. 'They're still over protective though. I guess I'm just not used to that. But it's nice.' She blinked and looked down to Chika-kun who was now holding both of her hands and giving her the biggest puppy look ever.

"Promise us you won't do anything with this guy until your older? Or at least until your married, huh?" He sniffled.

"U-uh—"

"Or we'll castrate him for touching you." Came Shito's threat.

"Really? I thought more along the lines of just slicing off his hands for touching her." Chika added in all seriousness.

Michiru looked between them quickly. "E-eh! Y-you can't do that!" She waved her hands in the air to prevent them from getting any more ideas. "W-wait I promise! I promise nothing will happen!"

Oh gullible little Michiru…

"Deal!" Chika grinned, a small chuckle escaping is lips. "Now hurry and get dressed! We need to eat and clean up before Momoka-chan gets here!" He bounced back to life.

"I thought you said you were going out with her today." Shito pointed out. "We don't have to clean the whole dorms if you're going out dobe!"

"But what if she decides she doesn't wanna go out? Instead maybe watch movies or something?" Chika complained.

"Then _you_ can clean up the living room." Shito glared, taking his leave.

"Mou, he can be such an ass sometimes." Chika growled under his breath. "I better let you change. See you in the kitchen." He waved, walking out casually.

'That had gone… better than I had expected…' Michiru thought shortly after closing her door and changing. She had put on a white summer dress with a purple and black flower print running up along the side of it. Just below her bust there was a black ribbon that tied into a bow in the side and dangle prettily. She thought that the fact the dress was strapless might make her partners angry, but knew that Zarame would love it, so she just brushed her hair and left for the kitchen, a smile already on her face.

Zarame had already reserved a seat for the girl and had even made sure she had a plate full of food before any of the others could polish it off (namely Zen and Chika, the pigs). His eyes had glanced up at her arrival, the deep amethyst burning into her as he gave her a once over. She even had the gal to leave her neck exposed to the world causing a devilish smirk to adorn his lips.

"Ohayo minna-san~!" She sang happily, walking around the kitchen to find her seat next to Zarame. "When will Momoka-chan and your father be joining us Chika-kun?"

"Huh?" The white haired boy grunted, mouth full of eggs and bacon.

"Shiro-chan! Swallow before you speak! Baka." Toko shouted. She reached for another piece of bacon just as Zen had. She shot him a murderous look that just dared him to grab the last one from her. With great satisfaction she had swiped the final piece of bacon when her partner had backed off with a nervous smile. "I'm curious to know what your family is like though, I wonder how much you look like them?"

"Ch!" Chika swallowed and cleared his voice. "Like hell I do. My old man is a cross-dressing-flamboyant-crazy and my sister~ is way too cute to look like me."

"Either way Akatsuki, don't overdue it today. They don't need to know why we are here, remember?" Shito spoke up.

"I am not a complete idiot ya know. We're just gunna go shopping and have a little fun." Chika waved off.

His partner wasn't so convinced though. "Don't forget to remain within our perimeter. I will be at the library while you amuse yourself with your family."

"The library? Whatcha gunna do there?"

"Toko-chan, why are you dating such an empty headed fool?" Zen asked shortly after the statement.

"I really don't know. Maybe for the looks?"

"That's what I thought."

"Actually I'm working today at the library." Piped Koyomi from the hall. She came strolling into the kitchen with her bag and snatched a slice of toast. "It's my first day, and this way I can help pay off more debt." She swallowed her toast quickly and downed a glass of orange juice. "Yosh!" She jumped in excitement. "I'm off! See you later Shito-kun~! Minna-san!"

"I hope she isn't going in on her first day while being on a sugar rush. She might scare some people…" Chika muttered under his breath, others nodding in agreement.

Michiru ate her breakfast quietly and had cleaned up with Zarame while the others made themselves useful on the gorgeous Saturday. By the time Chika's family had come, the place had been fairly clean and they had all welcomed them in. There was the usual breakout that happened whenever Chika's father tried to hug his son and smother him with his love. Then there was the silent little sister that stood off to the side with her cell phone.

When the snap of her closing phone had caught the attention of the boys, the two had gone silent. Momoka stared and looked off to the side. "Could… We go shopping?"

Yuri, Chika's father, had squealed first. "Ooo darling of course we can! Anything in particular you're looking for?"

"Um, clothes?"

Michiru had then remembered she had wanted to go shopping with her boyfriend for the very same. "Would you mind if we tagged along? I wanted to go with Zarame to pick up some things." She asked softly.

The red head, who had been leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, had looked up wearily at Michiru. He had been observing the entertaining exchange for sometime until Michiru had mentioned going out with him. "Hn?"

"You're not trying to take my precious Momoka-chan away from me are you?" Came Chika's overdramatic voice, the boy now hugging his sister chokingly tight.

"Ah…" She put up her hands and shook her head back and forth quickly. "N-no I s-swear I'm not! I j-just thought it would be fun."

"Never mind my darling Chika-kun, of course we can all go together~!" Yuri-san piped, pinching the cheeks of both Chika and Momoka. "Right?"

Zarame had appeared behind Michiru with a huff. "We could have gone ourselves you know."

"But that wouldn't be fun."

He grinned. "I suppose it would be amusing to watch them in public."

-X-

The white haired boy's family had said their goodbyes earlier in the day and they had parted just before dinner. Since then Michiru and Zarame had been ignoring the fact that taunts were being sent their way courtesy of Shiba, whom found it all too fun to tear in between the dimensions over and over again in different places. They both agreed that it would be useless to pursue someone skipping across dimensions like a child. So they had resumed their little shopping adventure with a bubbling Chika until Michiru had felt they had gotten everything needed.

"What's the use in buying this guy clothes anyways? Who knows how long he's going to be poking around here to actually put them to good use."

Michiru ignored him as she stretched herself across the couch with a small sigh, happy to be home. She brightened considerably when Zarame had entered the living room with a tray of tea ready for them. He had set the tray carefully on the coffee table and raised a curious brow at Michiru. "Will you be making any room anytime soon or shall I sit elsewhere?"

Toko rolled her eyes from her spot on one of the chairs. "Couples.."

Chika beamed from his spot though, and looked over at Toko with a certain glint in his eyes. "Toko-chan~, why don't you come and sit in my lap. I bet it's more comfy than that chair."

As Zarame had settled himself on the couch with Michiru curled on his side, he had noticed something pretty remarkable. 'So the girl actually took to his invitation?' He thought in mild surprise, though his face showed indifference. He merely turned his attention back down to the one in his arms and gave her a nudge. "Would you like some tea Michiru-chan?"

"Oh, you don't have to pour me any, I can do it myself—" She watched as he placed a mug of freshly poured tea into her awaiting hands and smiled weakly. She then stared at her boyfriend quietly sipping at his tea and mentally thanked him for being so sweet.

When Shito and Koyomi had joined them, the two had popped in a movie and sat down in the chair Toko was previously in, the two occupying it as well. By the time the movie had ended, both Chika and Toko had fallen asleep in each other's arms while Koyomi and Shito had already retired for bed. Michiru's eyes were drooping around the end, but she had caught herself before truly falling asleep.

"Were you going to use the baths tonight before bed Michiru-chan?"

"Mm, I don't know. I might fall asleep in the warm water if I do." She responded tiredly.

Zarame shrugged. "I could always join you. I'm sure you wouldn't be slumbering then."

The girl sat up quickly, a hot red blush coating her cheeks. "E-eh?" She managed to squeak.

He contained his chuckled and chose to only shoot her his famous sexy smirk.

"H-hentai." She accused in a whisper.

The Reaper closed his eyes but kept the same grin on. "As I recall it, you were the one who wanted to further our little session last night—" He felt fingers on his lips, ceasing him from speaking anymore then he should.

"Shhh! Shhhh! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Michiru panicked, looking over to the other couple still slumbering in the chair and back to Zarame. "Y-you might wake them up. Th-they don't need to hear that."

He pried her fingers off his lips, making a motion for her not to speak. He had lifted her into his arms, carried her out of the living room and finally to their bedroom. Placing her on her feet, he had pinned her against the wall just outside of their room. With a grin, he had proceeded to give her his goodnight kiss, though it lasted hardly long enough, he had pulled away to let her know that she should get to bed and that he would be joining her shortly after he took a shower. Then he had left her there in a bit of a daze, not missing the girl's mumbled curse.

"Mou, you can be so mean Zara-kun." Michiru pouted.

-X-

Monday came around somehow far too quickly for everyone's taste. Maybe it was because of their slow growing hatred towards the Snow White play they were all forced to participate in. Or perhaps the lilac haired girl was just feeling nervous about her clumsiness resulting in more unwanted drama of the odd clique of fangirls. She really did not want to keep bumping into those three, let alone being within ten feet of that crazy Momo-sempai.

"I am really getting pissed off at all these idiot little girls! Seriously Michiru-chan, if they were as crazy as this with my Shito-kun I would have wiped the floors with them by now!" Koyomi pointed out at lunchtime.

"You know you can do it too, Gopher." Chika said between mouthfuls of half chewed food.

Oh yes, so very attractive…

The girl sighed loudly and held a gentle smile. Sure she could kick them around no problem, but that didn't mean that she should. Besides, she was still trying to figure out why she had seen that Luna girl with a black ring around her neck. Even now, across the cafeteria she could see her in her school uniform, but sensed nothing unusual about her.

'I'm sure I'll find out some time…'

Till then, she would keep a close eye on her.

-X-

Time had flown by as preparations for the upcoming festival were now being finalized. The stages were set, the costumes had been fitted and the days were being counted down. Though most of them weren't all too pleased with their roles, especially since they'd be ridiculously dressed in front of most likely the entire student body. Zarame especially despised his idiotic female role, which for some ungodly reason attracted most of the female population to the show by that much more. Especially when the posters for advertising were put up.

Oh, was he ever attractive in his Snow White gown.

Note the sarcasm.

"The grand showing will be tomorrow afternoon! With all the tickets having been sold so quickly, we're expecting a huge crowd tomorrow. So let's start this years festival with a bang!" Momo-sempai shouted to all the members of their play, earning a varied response of shouts and applause from most of them.

To be honest, Michiru and Zarame had been fairly excited about the festival at their school. There were quite a few events that had been organized for not only tomorrow but also the rest of the week. Several groups had formed and took charge of creating exciting booths and games to play. Also at the end of the week were then the closing ceremonies. During that time there would be an evening bonfire and a dance would occur. All were invited to participate of course.

"Well at least this horror will be over soon. With the opening ceremonies beginning tomorrow morning and all, that leaves us plenty of time to have some fun for the evening and the next three days after that." Chika sighed with relief, letting out a bit of a childish giggle. "I can't wait!"

Michiru hummed in agreement, "But remember Chika-kun, we will be showing the play at least three times. Tomorrow may be the big showing, but Wednesday and Thursday are also going to be just as huge. Momo-sempai did say that the tickets had sold out."

"Mou, I can't believe that leaves us with just the whole of Friday to have fun for the day. I mean we'll barely be energetic for the night after working so hard in the day. It's not fair!" Toko shot both Chika and Shito a glare. "If it weren't for you two bozos, I'd be enjoying the entire festival, not just a small portion of it!" She accused hotly.

They had been making their way out of the school at this point, the whole group having been stuck together more often then usual because of the preparations for the play.

"Simmer down Toko_-chan_~. It's not like you were planning on being at the festival everyday from start to finish anyways. Besides, you know the closing ceremonies with the big dance is way more fun." Zen had surprisingly stated in Chika and Shito's defence.

Zarame ignored the bubbling group, as per usual. It's not that he minded their bickering. Well no, that was a lie. It did annoy him, but in some weird okay way. It made him feel more welcomed among them if anything. This of course would intern allow him to experience a sense of content from being part of a bigger, much more welcoming group of people. The creatures from the world in which he was originally from were hardly as warm and interesting as those from the human realm. The gods were simply too dull in his opinion, except for Amaterasu.

'Her emotions were very human-like at a time… She had been special.' The Reaper thought, his deep amethyst eyes swinging over to glance at his beautiful companion. 'Michiru-chan…' His gaze softened for a moment.

Michiru had caught her boyfriend staring at her from the corner of her eyes and had inclined her head towards him in wonder. "Eh?"

He shot her a small quirk at the corner of his lips, and then re focused on staring ahead.

"Are you guys nervous for tomorrow?" Koyomi asked joyously ahead of the group, everyone now inserting their own opinions about the matter.

Their chatter continued to be lively until they reached their dorms, everyone splitting off from there while Shuji took care of making dinner for the evening.

Once everyone had eaten and cleaned up, Michiru had decided to at least do some form of homework, unlike the others. She tried focusing on her studies as much as possible since she really didn't want to flunk. Although she was relieved to know that they didn't need to hand in any assignments until the following week, it didn't mean she could slack off. The festival happening from Tuesday to Friday meant that there was no school for those days. But in return it meant larger assignments and readings that were due on the Monday afterwards.

Sure most students didn't care about it but… 'Some people just so happen to be amazing in History. Why can't I be just as good..' She had wanted to whine aloud, but simply settled for bumping her head against her textbook.

"What are you doing?"

She froze mid-bump with a sense of nervousness. "Ah…" She mumbled, peeking over to her doorway only to find Shito standing there clad in a pair of pants with a towel hanging over his shoulder. "You…"

"Just saw that, yes." He pointed out bluntly. "Do you enjoy harming yourself or are you simply dreading the material?"

A hot blush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks. However before she could even answer him he had cut her off.

"If you need help, Kita-san, I suggest you ask for it. No one would think less of you." He turned to leave, but had shot over his shoulder beforehand. "The baths are free now. I recall your preference to them as opposed to the showers." With that said, he left for his own doll filled bedroom.

Meanwhile the girl had only gaped at the empty doorway, mentally thanking the gods that Zarame hadn't found her bashing her head into her history text like she had. 'It's time for a break.' She inwardly squeaked, shutting her text loudly as well as her notebook in favour of relaxing. Hell she knew she needed it, especially since tomorrow had her more wound up than a bag of springs.

'I can't believe the festival is beginning tomorrow. It's so soon, or maybe I've been too distracted to even notice the time flying by.' She had made it to the baths and had stripped down. Covering herself with a towel she had walked into the room and checked the temperature of the water. 'I haven't even seen much of Luna-san since that time I bumped into her. Maybe I really had just been imagining it after all.' She sunk into the water and sighed.

"This is exactly what I needed.." She purred, feeling her muscles beginning to finally relax.

"Strange, I could say the same." Came another voice from the doorway of the change rooms.

Michiru had gasped in fright, for the second time feeling like she had been caught red-handed doing something wrong. "Um.."

"I recall the boys having the baths tonight, not the girls. And why are you not sleeping like the others?"

She could seriously feel her cheeks burning terribly bright with embarrassment. "Ah… We-well, Shito-kun had been the last to use the place, and with everyone else asleep and you out—I-I—thought it would be okay." She sunk a bit further into the water.

There was a small chuckle. "You needn't worry Michiru-chan. I'm not looking at you. Although I am concerned that you are not sleeping properly. Why is that?"

She felt a bit better now. "I'm j-just nervous.. about the festival. I-I've never done this sort of thing before Zara-kun. I hope I don't screw up." She admitted.

"Hn." Came his usual response to most things. "I wouldn't worry. You will put on an amazing performance. I on the other hand do not look forward to tomorrow. Nevertheless, I will bear with it. For your sake and the sake of your friends." He shifted from his spot and turned around. "I will wait for you in your room. Don't be long." He teased, walking out before he could let her form a coherent response.

'At least I feel a bit better despite the fact that I lied. I am nervous about tomorrow, but that's not what keeps bothering me. I worry that at any possible moment my friends are in danger of being erased from this world by Shoremen, Luna-san is throwing me off… And Shiba… We need his core to avoid all of this. I have so many problems that I need to deal with. I just hope it all works out in the end.' Michiru's eyes drooped, the girl chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

'Please let it work out.'

-X-

The next day the opening ceremonies had begun in the early afternoon. Stalls were filled with food and activities had been set up all around the school property. The grounds were nearly instantly overflowing with all ages of students along with some parents and teachers floating around to help keep the peace. And despite most of the events being outdoors it was still loud and booming with voices and music from excited students.

"I wish we weren't stuck in here doing the set up." Shuji complained for the third time that day.

"Same here, I wanna go out and enjoy the festival with my precious Toko-chan~." Chika grumbled, picking at his costume with small twist in his face. "Man, what is this made of? It itches like helllll!" The boy's costume was a classic step mother-like dress with a snug corset and dark long sleeves. He also had a crown and the girls had managed to put him in a black wig with a bun. To make him look even more stunning, his nails were painted blood red similar to the colour of the lipstick used on him and in addition, his eyes had been lined and cheeks had been blushed up a little just for the sake of not looking too dead on stage.

Zarame and Michiru were currently sitting in makeup chairs, holding in their laughs as some students made up their faces for the play. When Chika had originally emerged with his costume and makeup, there was a good laugh from their group. Shito had even managed a chuckle while Zarame just kept a grin of amusement plastered on his face. That is, until he had come out in his first outfit for Snow White. A ragged pink dress and a short black wig. He had received a few laughs as well, but it was mostly the crew and every other female in the building sighing at how gorgeous he was with black hair.

"Ne, I can't wait to see you in your other outfit Zara-kun." Michiru teased after her makeup had been finished. She was dressed in her prince costume fully equipped with the poof shoulders, long sleeves, gloves, white tights, shoes and of course the sword. Obviously the sword wasn't made of metal and was only cheap plastic, but Michiru couldn't help but prefer her twin scythes to a sword any day. 'No offence Chika-kun, but I prefer the curve on my blades.' She thought as she fiddled with the plastic thing.

The Reaper gave her a look as the last of his makeup was being applied. He had allowed the mascara and faux eyelashes, but unfortunately for the girl he did not enjoy the application process. Thus it took longer than it should have. Plus he wasn't even going to let them remotely get near his lips or his cheeks. He didn't care if he was going to look pale and dead on stage because news flash, he_ was _Death. And it was annoying enough that he could already make girls swoon by simply wearing a torn up dress, but now with the smallest amount of makeup, it made some of them go positively gaga.

'I will never understand why these school girls adore watching men wear cosmetics.' He thought just as the girl finished. He had brushed her aside and stood up, glancing into the mirror the girl had provided for him to see the results.

"You should really let me put some blush on you—" The girl started.

"No."

"B-but—"

"This looks horrible." He made a face and glared at the girl. "There are too many eyelashes and this is incredibly uncomfortable to wear." However the insult just seemed to bounce right off as she giggled and walked away to chat with her friends about the fact that she had done _the_ Gaminishi Zarame's makeup.

"Zara-kun, that wasn't nice. You know we need to wear lots of this stuff so we don't look horrible on stage." Michiru soothed.

"I don't care."

"Well it won't be my problem then when you go onto stage looking like a ghost." Michiru told him. "Now let's go stand with the others and practice our lines again!" She beamed, tugging her boyfriend to go and find Chika and the others.

After another hour of rehearsing, the team actually started to feel a bit nervous about the first showing. Momo-sempai had started to let in the crowds of giggling students who then took their seats. This continued until it turned into a full house of students and teachers, some of the crew peeking from behind the curtains to observe the crowd.

"Oh my god, I can't believe all these people are going to see me as a dwarf." Toko squeaked, looking back at a huffing Zen and chuckling boyfriend.

"At least you're not the evil step mother. Don't worry Toko-chan~." Chika tugged her away from the curtain. "You'll be fine."

"Besides, I'm a dwarf too." Zen pointed to himself.

Chika grunted under his breath. "A role that couldn't be more suiting for someone so short."

It didn't take long for that to reach Zen's ears. "What didja say _Old Man_?"

"Chika! Now is _not_ the time—" Toko began but had swiftly been cut off my their oh so wonderful director.

"Oi! Shut up! The show is about to begin and they do not need to hear your moronic bickering backstage!" Momo hissed at them, her hands firmly placed on her hips. "Now get away from the curtains and wait for your cues!"

This had been a side that was rarely revealed to the group. They only knew their director as the sweet and bubbly Momo-sempai. So they had all glared at the woman before dispersing, silently promising to finish the conversation later.

The play had begun shortly after, the scene opening with Chika, aka the Queen, cursing Snow White for her beauty.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" Came Chika's shrill female-ish voice.

A boy who had appeared in the mirror had said. "Why, Snow White is my Queen."

"What? That impudent little girl!" Chika boomed.

The scene continued, and Zarame had soon come out, humming of course instead of singing. That's when the Mighty Prince Michiru had emerged, searching for the owner that the most amazing tune to be hummed.

"Oh what a beautiful sound! If only I could see the beauty who could produce such a melody." Michiru sighed loudly on stage, making a gesture as if searching for the owner of the voice.

And then the lights went out.

Which clearly was _not_ part of the plan.

There were mumbles and gasps, some of the girls screaming from the power outage.

"Zarame-kun?" Michiru shouted about the growing voices of the audience, trying in vain to find him blindly on the stage. She felt hands go around her waist and sighed in comfort. "Zara-kun, what—"

"Michiru!"

She froze, having clearly heard his voice much further then beside her. 'Is it the Shoremen?' She thought in alarm, instantly ducking away from whoever had held her to get some distance. 'Or is it—'

Emergency lights came on, the room now lit in a low glow. This gave the girl enough light to see who had grabbed her. It also provided enough light for her to see in the corner of her eye Zarame transforming into his Reaping outfit, black feathers flying in a flurry around him.

"Yo~. This wouldn't happen to be a bad time, now would it?" Shiba smiled smugly, just narrowly missing a blow from Zarame and his scythe. "Whoa, right to it aren't we?"

"What can I say," Zarame began in a low, vicious voice. "Reaping is my nature."

The audience, now panicking since Zarame had somehow 'vanished' were beginning to shout and most were moving for the exits.

The invader chuckled at the answer and bounded away again from an attack. Now looking back at the fleeing students he had frowned. "Aw, but I enjoy viewers." Shiba mock cried, gesturing with his free hand to the doors. They had coated themselves all in ice, successfully imprisoning the people inside the auditorium. "_Much _better." He noted loudly.

Zarame had charged again with his scythe, swinging at the boy and getting blocked. "What is the point of keeping them here when they can't even see you!" He growled, giving the blond boy a kick to the chest.

Shiba groaned in discomfort, leaping away from another swipe and landing on the other end of the stage. "Obviously it's more fun when you have panicking hostages. I could even start killing them off now, before their actual due dates. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"_Shibaaaa_!" Came Chika's barrelling voice. The boy had managed to come out with his school uniform barely on and makeup smeared off his face. He had furthermore formed his katana and was soon side by side with his partner and his pistol.

"You've got some nerve coming here." Shito grunted.

"Well what can I say? I was getting bored waiting around." Shiba brushed off nonchalantly. "And I love a panicking group." He motioned to the people still trying to get out.

"Why you.." Chika started with a growl, charging at the man with his sword poised at his side. He had passed the Shinigami and clashed his katana roughly against his scythe, furious that the boy was still grinning. "What the _hell_ Shiba! Just let them go!"

The taller boy had snorted at such an idea. "Nah." He shifted his blade so that he could knock Chika right off the stage, causing him to land on his back. "You know, I've put up with you long enough." He pointed his blade down at his grunting ex-best friend. "I think it's time for you—"

"_Reiichirou Shiba_!"

Said person had turned with an annoyed look on his face. Three girls now surrounded him on the stage, swords pointed at him. "Huh?"

"You are officially under arrest by order of the Executive Reaper Sector."

Michiru had shifted her gaze until it rested on the three girls she seemed to have the misfortune of constantly bumping into. Momo-sempai, Luna-san and the third girl whom Michiru had finally come to know as Ayumi-san had surrounded Shiba with katana's pointed at him. They also all wore the same official black uniform and cloaks that indicated they were reapers. Narrowing her eyes on the three of them, she could now see that they all bore the same black rings on their necks too.

'That's why I saw it on Luna that time. They're part of the reaper group that formed when Zarame left to get his core back.' She thought, suddenly feeling nervous. 'He said that they didn't have much of any ability aside from the basics to reap souls. They won't stand a chance against Shiba-kun!'

"Oh? Now who are you?" Shiba evaluated all of them. "Hm, not very strong, are we? You have cores though, which is good.." He grinned.

"Step down." Zarame growled to the girls, his blood boiling at the very sight of Shiba toying with them.

The girls shot looks at their leader, Momo, in worry. "Momo-san, what shall we do?"

"We aren't stepping down! Let's arrest this—" She was cut off by a piercing pain in both her shoulders, her friends letting out unheard screams as the same occurred. Shiba had taken advantage of their bickering to pin them to the walls of the auditorium with icicles that he had formed without much of a second thought.

"Now then," He brushed his sleeve. "Where were we?"

'This isn't good. With all these people and the crew still here, they might see Chika-kun and Shito-kun fighting thin air and receiving mortal wounds. We need to move this somewhere.' Michiru eyed Zarame worriedly as well. 'Plus he might loose his temper, and if that happens here, he could end up freezing everyone.' She nibbled on her bottom lip while she glanced around the room for any eyes that were currently on her.

'_Now.' _

She let her abilities cloak her in a spiralling flame, her tattered uniform replacing her wonderfully bright prince costume in mere seconds. With a powerful leap she had firstly moved past all the students and in one swift move had thawed the ice over the exits and allowed them to bustle out noisily. She mentally thanked the gods for the amazing ability of remaining invisible to humans when in battle. Though it is for the best since humans aren't allowed to see Reapers or any gods for that matter except for maybe a split second before they meet their own demise.

So when the girl was sure Shiba wasn't going to interfere with her plans to let all the 'hostages' out, she had made her way next to the shinigami girls that were still pinned and bleeding against the walls. She thawed the ice that held first her sempai in place, catching the girl before she could fall to the floor.

"Mi.. Mi-chiru?" Momo eyed the girl in confusion, whimpering in pain.

The white clad girl ignored her and simply laid her gently down. "I will help your friends as well. It will be a moment."

Meanwhile Zarame continued the clash of his blade against Shiba's, grinding his teeth in frustration at the grinning false reaper. "I won't let you get away this time, boy."

"Oh please, I—" Shiba began to brush off until he felt a sudden sting in his side and left leg. 'Wh-wha—'

Shito stood with his pistol smoking in his left hand, eyes ablaze. "That's for harming Kita-san, you repulsive piece of garbage."

Zarame had pushed Shiba back roughly, also landing a hit on the boy's chest with his curved blade. As a result, blood splattered across the stage.

Then everything happened much faster than expected. Zombie's had flooded the stage and forced the rest of the team into battle while Shiba took the distraction to his advantage. He had expertly torn a hole in the space behind him, falling into it all the while sending winks at the true Reaper.

"Why you—" Zarame dove for the portal, but had backed off just as it had closed. Next he had heard the most terrifying scream from the one person that could make his heart stop. "Michiru!" He turned, but could see nothing indicating she had ever been here to begin with. "_Michiru_!"

Luna leaned forward to try and catch her breath, blood seeping from both sides of her mouth. Luckily the girl had vaguely been able to see through blurred vision just as the white figure had melted the icicles in time. "Th-they were just…" She wheezed. "..H-he took her.."

With the three shinigami out of commission, this left the usual six to battle the on coming zombies that assumedly had been created by ARRC to aid Shiba. Weapons clashed loudly, the sounds vibrating across the auditorium with ease and clarity. Zen was back to back with Chika as they sliced and diced their enemies together, sending them on their way to heaven. At the same time, Shuji and Shito were shooting their prey, weakening them considerably until they could no longer move. Once that occurred, Chika and Zen would finish them off and send the next cluster to heaven.

Toko had also stepped in shortly after them, forming seals with her magic and trapping the creatures in a circle she would form bellow them.

"Now!" She cried, dots of sweat dripping down from her temples.

Chika and Zen danced around the fallen bodies as Shuji and Shito provided cover from those that were still kicking and weren't trapped in a circle. Once the two sword wielders had ripped through the defenceless zombies, they had proceeded to shred the rest that were bleeding from gun shot wounds, bringing the small platoon down much easier than usual.

Panting, Chika had lifted his katana just as Zen did, guiding the dead souls to their proper resting place in heaven once again. When the green glow of the guidance had dispersed, their weapons had dematerialized. "Guidance complete." The white haired boy mumbled under his breath in pure exhaustion, looking up at his partner.

Shito had dematerialized his pistol as well and had nodded to Chika, feeling a little ragged himself for having used so much strength to shoot all those zombies. Shifting his gaze, he had tried to catch a glimpse of Koyomi's whereabouts, concerned that he had not seen her in a while.

"I had sealed off the doors to stop any unwanted visitors." Came a dull voice from just behind the curtains of the stage. "This place will be swarmed with humans soon, so you know." She walked out with her arms crossed, looking oddly funny while still in her costume and yet with such a serious stance.

"Shinigami-sempai?" Shuji turned to the frigid Zarame, ice having formed a ring around him while the auditorium dropped severely in temperature. "Ano.."

The crimson haired boy stood there, fists clenched and scythe gone. Trapped in his own thoughts he couldn't help but blame himself for being so weak. How many times now has it been that Michiru has disappeared on his watch? How many times had she returned injured because of that idiotic human that he had made the mistake of underestimating? He just couldn't take it anymore. They could be anywhere and here he was, almost powerless to do anything.

"Oi! Zarame! We need ideas here or we might get busted by some cops!" Chika bellowed, causing the Reaper's head to shoot up in his direction. Since he could clearly tell that the red head was livid beyond the imaginable, Chika had raised his hands up in a sign of defeat. "Whoa big boy, look I don't mean to piss you off but we can't help you if we get put into jail."

"My job isn't to destroy bodies." Zarame growled, his aura visible to all in the room. Despite what he had said though, all the bodies were being coated in ice, right down to the blood that stained the wooden stage. "Take the wounded Shinigami Replacements and get out." He rumbled, lowering his head, his bangs covering his eyes.

"B-but what about—" Toko began, but felt her throat close up in nervousness of the chilling aura around them.

Shito was already carrying one of the unconscious girls at this point, motioning for the others to do the same. "We will regroup at the dorms. Let's try to be as unnoticeable as possible."

"Considering we'll be carrying thin air to most people, it'll be difficult not to be noticed at this point." Chika grumbled in mild complaint, lifting Luna easily off the floor.

Shuji had hoisted Ayumi just as effortlessly, the Z-Loan group walking out from one of the many stage doors that Yomi had unsealed. When they had gone, the possessed girl had remained behind to observe and continue keeping all exits locked until the place had been cleaned.

The Reaper had mentally noted the familiar presence of the snake boy, and firmly ignored it. He let his abilities stretch across the entire floor, all sections covered with now thick sheets of ice. Positive that he had gotten everything, he had proceeded to lift one hand from the safety of his black cloak and turn it to the ice. From one end to the other he crumbled all of the frozen substance, whatever had previously been within it now nothing but air.

As the last of it disintegrated and dispersed, the stage had come to look like nothing had ever damaged it. No blood, no corpses or weapons. Just an empty stage barely lit by the emergency lights of the building.

"We should get going." Yomi spoke up pointedly, walking over to the gloomy Shinigami. The possessed girl had gripped the boy's shoulder softly and without prior warning the two had been transported back to the dorms just as the doors had been bursted open by what Yomi assumed were the police.

Letting go, Yomi had lowered his head and mumbled a small apology concerning Chiru-Chiru. "I will do my best to track her, but you know the best way to do this." He murmured softly, his eyes closing as the true Koyomi re-emerged from her slumber.

Zarame had supported her as she shifted back, not even looking at her. As soon as he was sure she could stand properly, he had left her to walk into the dorms and re-coup. The others wouldn't be arriving just yet, which gave him some peace of mind when he had entered his girlfriends' room.

He had slumped onto their bed and inhaled her scent to keep from loosing his sanity like he had before. Whenever she did return, he didn't want her to do so while the whole city was plunged into a winter again. She had scolded him for that and he didn't want to disappoint her. He was better then this; he would keep in control no matter what this time. 'And… The place used to track her… I can't go there. The room of threads is already difficult enough to enter, let alone doing it without alerting the Keepers.' He thought, brushing a hand through his tangled locks in frustration.

"Michiru…" He groaned out desperately. "Please, Amaterasu… Protect her."

-X-

Clashes echoed.

Fog surrounded them.

Burning flames engulfed waves of ice.

Blood coated the sands.

"I won't forgive you for the pain you've caused!"

Sparks from steel crashing ruthlessly against steel flared around them.

"That's okay~. As long as I get to fight you for real and do what I came here to do. There's no avoiding it this time Michiru-chan~."

She kicked him in the torso painfully, also feeling a twinge run up her leg as she did so. She had landed in the sand, her legs bent as she prepared for another strike. 'Damn.' She thought, her breath wheezing. How long had they been at this now?

"Avoiding what? You've been toying with us ever since you appeared as an illegal zombie! … W-why can't you just give a straight answer… I-I thought you wa-wanted to help.." She gasped for breath, holding up her twin blades protectively but weakly. One eye was closed due to blood dripping down her head, leaving her with only one other to watch him and defend herself.

From the sands, the false reaper rose. He kneeled and used his scythe to hold him in place, a bloodied smile on his face. "I do actually." He held his chest and groaned in pain from the kick. "Which is why this needed to occur. Now do it, take them and get out of here before they show up and delete your friends." He coughed, more blood coating him.

The spirals of flames that had been in an endless battle with the freezing element had quickly conquered over it, eliminating them and lighting their battlegrounds in an orange glow.

"I-I d-don't understand—" Michiru began in a stuttered, confused as to why this was happening.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shiba continued to smile, genuinely for once. He stood, heavily leaning on his scythe with a sigh at his lips. He spoke softly and honestly, which had surprised the girl immensely.

And had caused her eyes to go wide in shock.

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**A/N Confused? Good, I'm almost positive the next chapter will be the last. I swear this time! Lol. Then there might be an epilogue, but I'm not sure yet. I did try to incorporate Shiba more, but I guess that'll have to be done in another fict. If I so choose to create another zombie-loan one that is. Which is a high possibility. I had honestly never imagined I would turn my cliff hanger one shot into a full fict. Blows my mind… Anyways, R&R please. Lots of love from me! Toodles!**


	13. Reaper's Key

**Disclaimers: I do not own ZOMBIE-LOAN**

**A/N I know it's taken a while. But here it is. The final chapter of Death Offer. Thank you for your patience, and for tuning in this long to my story! Really, I deeply appreciate it. You guys are awesome. I hope you all enjoy it! And don't forget to R&R!**

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**Death Offer**

**Chapter 13. Reaper's Key**

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"_I-I d-don't understand—" Michiru began in a stuttered, confused as to why this was happening. _

"_Isn't it obvious?" Shiba continued to smile, genuinely for once. He stood, heavily leaning on his scythe with a sigh at his lips. He spoke softly and honestly, which had surprised the girl immensely._

_And had caused her eyes to go wide in shock. _

-X-

"Isn't there anyway for us to find her? What if we called Shimotsuki-san?" Toko had been first to ask.

The Z-Loan team were currently located in the living room. Well, most of them were anyways. Bekko-san and Yuuta-kun weren't there, however Sotetsu-san as well as Otsu-san had attended. As for Undertaker-san, there was no way for him to meet with the group since he was busy with his daughter.

"Even if she did get here, what would be the point of her using her abilities? We have no idea where to even begin searching for Kita-san." Shito explained with mild frustration.

"We should really look into implanting a tracking device on this girl. How many times have we lost her now?" Chika grumbled hotly.

"I've lost count personally." Sotetsu-san piped amicably.

"This isn't something good to joke about you know." Otsu-san dully pointed out.

Sotetsu eyed his friend and shrugged. "I'm only trying to lighten the mood. Besides, as many times as she goes missing, she always _does_ come back in one piece. Our Michiru-chan is a tough cookie."

As much as he hated to admit it, though at least never aloud, Zarame did agree with the other red head. Michiru is a very strong girl, and can be quite clever when she wants to be. She could very well beat that idiotic Shiba to a pulp and potentially return to this world with only a few scrapes. Except that even though the Reaper knew this, it didn't help to soothe his worries any less.

He was actually contemplating leaving the group behind to go begin searching himself, but as the others pointed out, where would he even consider starting to look? 'This is entirely too frustrating. Michiru-chan should not be out there, nor should I be standing here waiting for these ningen to conjure some form of solution to this problem.' Zarame thought as he coolly stared out of the living room window. He couldn't bear sitting down next to anyone, let alone be near them with the amount of energy he was letting off. People were keeping warm with tea due to his bursting frosty aura.

"We should at least be doing something productive here! By contacting Shimotsuki-san we'd be able to start somewhere. It's better than just sitting around." Toko threw in suddenly.

Chika clutched his girlfriends hand and squeezed lightly. "I agree with that. We shouldn't just be waiting here for the answer to just come to us." He looked up to his partner and grinned. "How about we go to the Ferryman and see what he can do?"

"He wasn't answering any of my calls when I tried reaching him." Otsu-san said gruffly. "I don't think he's at the office."

"Feh, he'll just show up once we get there. I mean when has he _never_ been in his office when we go?" Chika brushed off easily.

"It's worth a shot." Zen added.

"Let's be going then." Shito muttered, pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning on. He sent Sotetsu a look. "Stay here and protect Koyomi-san. Akatsuki, Inubashiri, Touma-san and presumably Shinigami-san and I will be going to the Ferryman."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Toko smirked. "Let's go Whitey." She tugged her boyfriend out of his chair and made her way to the door.

"Okay, I guess we're staying back to hold up the fort Otsu-kun~." Sotetsu scratched the back of his neck and chuckled a bit.

"Aa." Otsu muttered in agreement, making himself comfortable on the couch. "Don't be long."

"No worries." Zen shot him a thumbs up and followed after Chika.

Zarame held back a sigh as he turned away from the window, exchanging small nods with Shito. "Let's make it a short visit. I am not fond of your Ferryman." He spoke softly, walking past the rest of the group. He had noticed how they shivered from his aura as he made his way by. He would have to try his best to keep calm to prevent accidentally freezing them into blocks of ice with his anger. Michiru wouldn't be too happy about it if he did…

"Don't worry." Shito came up behind Zarame and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We will find her. It's just a matter of time."

Zarame grunted in response. 'You are correct, we will find her. And when I do, I will rip Reiichirou Shibas' heart out of his weak little chest.' He mentally vowed, his eyes burning with much untamed hatred.

"Let's be going."

-X-

One bus ride and a four block walk later, the team found themselves staring into what used to be an office space occupied by Z-Loan. No furniture was left in the room let alone any documents or even a hint of Bekko-sans' whereabouts. It was all just empty.

"What the hell?" Chika walked in cautiously, looking around the entire place.

Shito narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Odd."

The two A-Loan members trailed in after Chika, and looked just as confused. "Has this ever happened before?" Toko asked curiously.

Her silver haired boyfriend had shaken his head, "No, this place has always been occupied by the Ferryman. I don't get—"

"I recognize this kind of work." Zarame spoke suddenly, almost urgently from the doorway. He had a scowl that darkened his face as well as a hint of annoyance that sparked in his eyes. "We need to leave."

With one brow raised, Chika dared to open his mouth. "Uh, are ya gunna tell us why we're leaving?"

Honestly, was this little brat for real? Actually _questioning_ the Reaper?

Maybe he had felt the sheer anger that pulsed from the innocent but deadly looking school uniform clad reaper. Or perhaps he had noticed the minor twitch of the eye that had occurred after he had spoken. Either way, Chika was holding up his hands nervously as Zarame entered the room.

"Easy there guy, no need to turn on ourselves." Zen said in a rather squeak-ish tone.

Zarame snorted at the thought. Yes, how ironic that these people in front of him were actually fare game for him to take out, and yet he wasn't because they were friends with his girlfriend. He dare not admit that they meant anything to him. Because lets face it, a reaper should not be so dependant on others, not to mention he generally lacks in time to spend with such people. Well, except for Michiru-chan. He wouldn't ever leave her for long periods of time alone anymore. Not ever.

The amber haired boy had shifted into his reaping form in a burst of a purple glow, loose feathers floating gently to the floor. "If you all don't immediately circle me and take hold of my scythe," Said blade materialized nearly instantly. "Then we might be in for a minor problem."

Toko and Zen were the first to jump and snatch the handle of the blade, the girl encouraging her boyfriend to do the same. When Chika had grudgingly grasped the handle so did Shito, and next thing they knew they had been transported back to the dorms together.

"Well that was an awkward feeling." Chika shivered. "Let's not do that again."

Shito rolled his eyes, placing a hand to his temple to calm his nerves. "Why did we just teleport back here Shinigami-san?" He asked coolly.

Zarame grunted, brushing back his cloak slowly. "Apparently we didn't escape fast enough. She followed us here."

"Hn? She?" Shito murmured, surprised when a figure had just suddenly appeared in front of them.

At that moment, the group had actually begun to take in their environment and peak around what used to be the living room. Safe for the Reaper, who kept his sights on the new person invading their space.

"What the hell happened here?" Chika yelled. "Where's our furniture? The others?"

Toko gaped as well, eyes widening as she watched the woman materialize what looked to be an oar. "That's a Ferryman!"

"Indeed it is." Zarame growled almost viciously at the woman.

Yes, she was dressed in a similar style of outfit that Bekko-san once wore, her hood shadowing her eyes just as well. The Ferryman merely ignored their outbursts and regarded them with a cold look. "By order of the higher ups, we are to delete all that threaten to destroy the Akashic Records." She spoke tonelessly.

The Reaper resisted the urge to grin wildly, thinking that a good show down with a ferryman would be just the type of thing he needed to wind down. "Hn, I highly suggest you step down. You are not permitted to even lay a finger on me, let alone those whom I carry under my charge." He gripped his scythe rather tightly as a warning.

The woman grunted in a very un-lady-like way. "Do not undermine me, little Shinigami." She shifted her Oar so that it touched the walls of the living room, displaying her own power.

Bit by bit, the Z-Loan teens had watched as their precious living room turned into nothing, which soon caught on to the rest of the dorms. Next thing they knew, the whole building had disappeared, as if it had never existed. Beneath them were now grass and an extended cemetery.

"What the—" Chika began to curse, feeling a little bit outnumbered.

Zarame had narrowed his eyes slightly more, regarding the woman with one of his best cold looks. "Little you say? I would never judge by appearance, you insignificant _pest_."

"You lecture me still despite my strength?" The woman began say but was silenced by the arctic wave of aura that had come over her. When she raised her gaze to actually look at the Reaper, she had found that a flash of his true nature had appeared briefly in place of the boy. The image of the original Reaper, the true Death, had brought a bit of a shiver down her spine.

"As you can see, I am _not_ a minor Reaper. If you ever dare to insult me in that manor again, I might be forced to _delete_ you." He seethed, the grass around him beginning to gather frost.

The Ferryman recomposed herself and dared to argue. "If you are Death, then why is it you fight your very nature to protect those that endanger the Fates? It is your duty to enforce the law. You of all should know that best, Zarame-sama."

"Even so, I have my reasons." He replied easily, feeling the group behind him grow a little uneasy from this exchange. He needed to wrap this up quickly so that he could find a safe place for them to lay low. "And you remember your place."

"Tch!" The woman bit back a curse. "This isn't over. Next time I find them without your protection, they are mine to be claimed." She hissed. "Believe me, I am a woman of my word." With that said she had dispersed in a small bundle of light, leaving the zombies and the Reaper peacefully in the cemetery.

In the distance a crow squawked from a tree that used to be at the side of the building. Now it just sat next to a bunch of headstones, looking more eerie than usual.

Sighing loudly, Chika had defused the tension in the air a little before speaking. "So, I'm guessing that she was the one who erased our stuff…"

"Probably during a struggle to do the same to the others," Shito added.

Toko gasped. "Oh m-my—The others—Did she—?"

"Probably not." Zarame grunted, turning to face them. "She seemed awfully angry to me." He resisted a small grin. "She had most likely just missed them and in misplaced anger had all but demolished your living room."

"But we were barely gone for an hour! How do you know they got away? Shuuji-kun and those girls, and Koyomi—" Toko babbled worriedly. She jumped when she felt arms wrapped around her waist, but calmed when she realized it was simply Chika trying to comfort her. "Shiro-chan..."

"Don't worry; I'm sure they got out, somehow." Chika tried to comfort, squeezing her gently. He looked up at the Shinigami and added weakly. "Ne Shinigami?"

Zarame nodded. "I am confident they are fine. If you would all hold onto the Scythe again, I will take us to a safe location."

They had been transported to yet another place, however it wasn't familiar to any of them. The best way to describe it was to simply say it was a room in a house. But it didn't have any doors or windows. Oh and the place was fully furnished and equipped with a nice entertainment system.

Sweet.

"Pinch me, I think we're in heaven." Chika sighed dramatically.

Zarame resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You are in a form of safe house. This is a place that was created by me in cases of emergencies. This is also the dimension in which I had originally brought Michiru, though not the same home."

"R-really?" Toko said in disbelief. "So then…" She began hesitantly. "Do you get satellite here or cable?"

"Are you kidding? He totally gets satellite if he's got that huge of a TV." Zen squealed.

Clearly no one was going to listen to him now, so he just sighed and turned to Shito. "You will all be safe here for now until I locate Michiru and bring her back. That annoying shore man shouldn't be able to find this place so easily. If she should… Well we won't go there."

Shito nodded. "We'll lay low here then. _Ganbatte_."

"Same to you. Also, that television doesn't have cable. It can play movies and games." Zarame pointed out.

"Great…" Shito muttered.

"Heh." Zarame grinned and disappeared in a flash of black feathers.

"Man! No cable!" Chika's voice bellowed from the couch, causing Shitos' eye to twitch slightly.

'He'd better not take his time. I don't know how long we'll be able to last in this place without killing each other.' Shito thought with a sigh, turning to his friends.

-X-

"Lyca, would you please pour me another cup of tea?" The young girl asked softly.

"It would be my pleasure Miss Shimotsuki." Replied the young Werewolf. He took the pot carefully and poured another cup for the girl, mentally thanking Yuuta-kun for some tips on handling delicate pots like this. And just as he finished, he gently place it back on the tray and was about to take it away when something had alerted his senses. Letting out a growl, his eyes had narrowed into slits as his hackles rose. He moved quickly to Shimotsukis' side and stood protectively with his fangs and claws barred at the intruder of his mistress' home.

Shimotsuki had barely even noticed the person, merely sipping at her hot tea while she placed her bookmark in her novel. Looking up she had sighed and greeted the guest, "Shinigami-sama, I had been expecting a visit."

Zarame snorted, "If that's true then call off your puppy."

The Were only snarled in response, "Why you—"

"Lyca." Shimotsuki spoke, silencing him immediately.

He looked back at his mistress and calmed. "Please call for me if you need anything, Shimotsuki-san." He murmured before leaving the room, eyeing Zarame as he passed him.

"Well," Zarame began. "You said you were expecting me."

"Hai," She placed both her book and cup onto the coffee table and folded her hands in her lap. "It has come to my attention that there have been shore men hunting the Z-Loan team. Though I am not under any loan, my family is involved with Bekko-san to some degree that I do not care to explain. In any case, I have noticed that the dorms are missing…"

"Work of the Ferryman." Zarame cursed.

"Yes well, I am not particularly happy about this… Yet you should know that everyone is safe from them, although temporarily until I can discuss a proper agreement with Bekko-san to terminate all the debts."

"Terminate them? What do you mean by that…"

Shimotsuki stared at him and shrugged. "It means that I am looking into buying out Z-Loan to end all of these problems. This way you can return to your duties, the Akashic Records can have time to mend and Michiru can take care of tying up some loose ends with ARRC. She is strong enough to handle that much which will in turn completely stop the records from further crumbling."

"Ah," Zarame nodded. "However the way I understand it, it would be quite the expense."

"That is why I am negotiating with Bekko-san. In addition to buying him out, I would also force all the debtors to repay me the money I am lending them to eliminate their contract. Essentially they would be under a different contract with me until their debt is paid, though without the un-dead portion to it." Shimotsuki explained, regarding him in a serious manor. "Until it is resolved, I will keep the location of the team undisclosed as should you. Ferrymen could be listening to us as we speak."

"I know of their nature." Zarame growled, tightening his grip on his scythe. "While you settle things here, I will try and find Michiru."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Shimotsuki asked curiously.

Zarame shot her a lopsided grin, brushing his cape aside. "I have my ways."

She observed the Reaper dematerialize from her living room, assuming that he had left for another dimension entirely. With a sigh, the girl had picked up her cup of tea and taken another sip. "Hmm." She hummed quietly, looking off to the side. "Shall we continue with our business then?" She questioned aloud, staring stonily at the bored blond man in foreign robes.

Bekko-san merely stepped out from behind a set of doors, his hood pulled up as he proceeded to enter and take a seat. "Gladly, and surprisingly enough, matters have been altered in our favour."

"Hm." Shimotsuki closed her eyes in thought. "Lyca." She called.

"Hai," The Werewolf was within the room in seconds, bowing to his mistress politely while awaiting instructions.

"We will need more tea."

"Hai."

-X-

Toko had been tearing whatever paper she could find to make talismans. Since she couldn't find scissors, she had to be extremely careful. She had luckily found pens and markers that had been stored inside the coffee table, but knew that painting ink on the seals would work best. 'We can only pray that this will be enough.' She thought as she continued to make strips.

A loud rumbling had caught some of the people in the room off guard, heads turning to the origins of the sound.

Zen blushed slightly, "Sorry, I feels like it's been days… I'm starved and there's nothing to eat in this... This living room."

"That's because it has been days." Shito said as he chewed on his lip, staring at the TV screen with the utmost interest. "Remember, this dimension was the one Kita-san was taken to in order to train her abilities. In the human world days had passed, however by her description, years had occurred here." He continued in a zombie-like voice, so entrance by the game he was playing.

"Heh… I got you now!" Chika bellowed, pressing several buttons on his controller and successfully using a boost on his go-kart to just barely pass Shito's character on the screen. The winner flashed in big letters on the TV, Chika jumping up to howl in excitement. "Hell yeah! I won! In your face shit-Shitooooo."

The blue haired man had stood up and growled. "I demand a re-match, porcupine."

"Cheh, you're just jealous that I keep whipping you." Chika challenged tauntingly. "No matter how many times we do a re-match, you'll just loose again. Face it, Mario Kart in my game!" He pointed to himself smugly.

Toko rolled her eyes at the comment. "Correction big boy, but I think I made it very clear yesterday that Mario Kart was _my_ game."

Shito grinned at his partner and sat back down on the couch in content. "Yes, I recall the same."

Chika sputtered at his girlfriend and resisted a small whiny noise. "I-I know that! I-I just meant that between me and him it's my game."

"Uh huh," She said in mild doubt, now writing on her seals the proper symbols. "You keep telling yourself that."

Zen snickered lightly, earning himself a glare form the white haired boy. Clearing his throat he had laughed nervously and looked over at Shito for a new topic to discuss. "So… If we've been here for days, does that mean you think the Shinigami forgot about us?"

"He's probably still looking for Michiru-chan." Toko piped helpfully as she scribbled some more.

"I guess.." Zen murmured.

Chika put down his controller and walked around the back of the couch to peak at what his girlfriend was doing, raising a brow at the messy seals. "What are these Toko-chan?"

She looked up at him with a mild twitch in her eye. "They're talismans, baka."

"You mean the kind you use against illegal zombies and stuff?" He asked.

"What else could they be, dobe…" Shito shot at him in annoyance.

"Why you teme—" Chika growled.

Zen huffed loudly, interrupting Chika's phrase. "C'mon you guys, you haven't gone one day yet without fighting."

"It's his fault!" They both said simultaneously, pointing to each other.

"Right.."

Toko stood up with her seals in hand, giving each of them two. "Here, I infused magic in all of them. Help me put them up, two on each wall." She instructed, shutting them up. "They should stick almost like magnets to the walls because of the magic."

Once they had done so, she had asked the boys to clear a space in the center of the room so that she could make a circle to focus in. "I want to keep these active for as long as possible, so I'll be meditating now. It should help to keep the Ferrymen out. But then again, I've never faced one before." She said anxiously.

"It's worth a shot. And at least it gives you something to do other than waste time with us playing video games." Zen laughed, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Yeah…" Toko rubbed her arms in a comforting way before sitting down cross-legged

in the center of the floor.

"Is there anything else we can do to help, Touma-san?" Shito asked politely.

"A-ano—" She stuttered, but cut herself off with a loud gasp. "Someones—" She began, standing to her feet quickly only to find it all too late. A force had broken through her makeshift barrier and now…

Several shapes were materializing in the room, one after another until nine full humans had formed and been removed of their glow. Yet lo and behold, as if by some miracle, there stood the rest of the team that had gone missing.

Sotetsu stood squarely next to the equally intimidating Otsu-san while Undertaker-san stood off gloomily to the side of them, none too impressed he was involved in this to begin with. In front of them were Shuuji-san, Koyomi and surprisingly Lyca as well, which meant someone was watching out for them. And off to the far side were the three little female Reapers glowering at the entire group, still slightly bruised up and ragged looking.

"Shimotsuki-chan got us here!" Koyomi piped. "We were so worried over you guys!" She started to sniffle, almost mulling Shito down as she threw herself at him for a hug. "W-well I was m-mostly worried." She admitted quietly to her boyfriend, smiling brightly when he squeezed back reassuringly.

Lyca glanced around the room quietly, sniffing lightly. "I smell magic… Are you trying to place a barrier here?"

"W-well—" Toko blinked, overwhelmed by everything.

"Aa, those are Toko's seals alright." Shuuji remarked. "Though a little more messy than I remember them being." He also added.

"Aw man, you guys had a TV?" Sotetsu drawled out loudly. "That's not fair, where we were there was absolutely nothing!"

"What more would we need while we had you around for entertainment, Sotetsu." Otsu pointed out dryly.

Sotetsu chuckled loudly, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah.. Hey at least it was never a dull moment."

Koyomi unlatched herself from Shito, though she kept her arms loosely around his neck she had beamed a smiled at Toko. "You said something about a barrier? I can help you with that!"

"Well then," Toko smiled gently. "I guess everyone should just make themselves comfortable while we work on that."

Soon after, the group had started to babble loudly while Toko tried to understand how they were going to do this. Since the bubbly girl wasn't able to actually properly control her spiritual abilities with Yomi inside her, they had discovered a different way to use her. Despite not being able to have complete access to her powers, they were after all still there. So Toko had thought of using Koyomi had an amplifier to her own abilities, drawing strength from her to make the barrier around their shelter stronger.

"This may not be good enough to hold back that crazy bitch of a Ferryman though.." Chika mumbled worriedly.

'Thanks for the vote of confidence, Chika-kun.' Toko had mentally shot at him.

"Eh? Bitch? A girl attacked you?" Sotetsu asked loudly.

The room had quieted, allowing them to think of this seriously. "Yeah, wasn't she the one who tried to catch you as well?" Shito questioned critically.

"Iie," Otsu had cursed gruffly. "It was and old man with white robes."

Chika had exchanged looks with Shito, a frown on his lips. "Well Shit."

"So basically we have giant targets painted on our back and more than likely _several_ Ferrymen on our asses?" Zen clarified, only earning silence from all of them. "Right, great."

"H-hey, we shouldn't even be here right now. So screw this, we're leaving." Momo-senpai had stood up in a huff, both her comrades mimicking her.

Otsu glared at the Trainee Reapers, "We've already been through this before coming. You can't leave or you might attract the Ferrymen."

Momo shook her blond head in anger, shrilly shrieking. "_So _unfair."

"Cheh." Chika snorted in distaste. He was about to point out how childish they were being when the building had started to suddenly rumble. At first gently, but then it gradually grew to a more violent shake, the boy falling off the couch roughly while the place continued to quake.

"W-what's going on!" Undertaker-san squeaked in alarm.

"Koyomi!" Shito shouted above the deafening noise of the roaring room.

Said girl squeaked in alarm, but remained in place, trying her best to help Toko. "S-someone is trying to break in! I-I think they followed our trail somehow!" She cried.

The place continued to tremble violently, dropping dust and pieces of plaster from the ceiling on them. Everyone was sent of the floor, covering their heads while larger pieces crumbled and fell over them. Cracks began to form up all the walls around the seals, which were all letting out glowing pulses to reject the invaders.

Beads of sweat rolled down Toko's temples as she concentrated on holding her ground and re-enforcing all the talisman's with every ounce of strength she had. She knew she wasn't as strong as Michiru, but that didn't mean we would give up so easily. She had purpose, a need to protect all these people for as long as humanely possible. She_ had_ to, because without her, they were all sitting ducks, just waiting to be erased by the Ferrymen.

"C'mon…" She whispered hoarsely, feeling her surge of strength beginning to dissipate. Then she felt it. Her seals were being overwhelmed, beginning to crack away as easily as the walls.

The Reapers were screeching in terror when the ceiling really began to come down on them. Large chunks were falling, and too frozen to do anything, Momo just watched as part of it was aimed at her. Her eyes widened, another scream set in her throat. She covered her head with her arms and waiting for the pain to occur, yet nothing happened. Squinting, she had peered passed her arms and found the blue haired man with glowing fists had saved her. 'Otsu-san?' She thought in confusion.

"Oi, Sotetsu!" Otsu yelled over the noise, his fists still glowing as he mutilated the large chunks of rubble to harmless dust and stones. "Get your head out of your ass and help me!"

Sotetsu hollered with laughter, forming his axe with ease. He bounced up off the shaking foundation, swinging his axe over his shoulder. "Well then, I'll cover the little witches over here while you take care of them." He jumped over the furniture, whacking away any potentially dangerous pieces as he went.

"I-I c-can't…" Toko stuttered, her body feeling more than just exhausted.

"Hang i-in there." Koyomi encourage.

Lyca growled in a very un-human like way while he kept most of the harmful pieces away from both himself and Undertaker-san. Since the old man chose to cower slightly in fear at the crumbling safe house, this left Lyca to grudgingly protect him. His mistress wouldn't have it any other way and he would never disobey her orders.

The red head with the axe on the other hand kept working at shielding the girls to the point where he didn't need to knock away any pieces anymore. The roof seemed to be clear off now, giving them all a view of the night sky. "Now that can't be good…" He swallowed the lump in his throat nervously.

With the roof gone, and the seals now burnt through, the pink haired girl could only let out a soft moan before collapsing forward onto Koyomi. Her energy just completely zapped right out of her.

"A-ah! Toko-chan!" Koyomi gasped, hugging the girl protectively. 'She probably hadn't expected that it would take up this much strength to try and keep out those creeps.'

Chika looked up from the protection of his arms to see his girlfriend out like a light bulb in Koyomi's enormous chest. 'Shit, she pushed herself too much—' He thought, his heart suddenly leaping into his throat. "Toko!"

"_Well then, what is it that we have here?" _Came a woman's voice_. _

"_Illegal zombies, huddled together." _An older males voice pointed out in amusement_. _

Two cloaked Ferrymen stood above the safe house, staring into the broken down place through the missing roof. It was hard to believe that all it took was the strength of two Ferrymen to bring down the house like they did, which made them all the more nervous.

Momo stood up at the comment, dusting herself off so that she could properly glare at the Ferrymen. "We are not illegal zombies. We're Reapers! We've got nothing to do with this!" She yelled at them hotly.

"Ah, and three annoying little Shinigami… My mistake… Run along now, we don't have orders to erase your kind." The older Ferryman said with a gesture of his hand.

Momo looked down at her terrified friends and nodded to them. "Girls, lets get the hell out of here." She growled, leading the way out as she tore open a portal to leave. She sent a brief apologetic look towards the others, the group looking as tired and scared as her. 'Kami help them…' She thought as she left, her friends trailing behind her.

"Little wimps." Chika cursed.

"Agreed." Shito grunted, tossing his right hand to Chika. "We should at least go down fighting, Akatsuki."

"Heh." The white haired boy grinned, catching the hand and tossing his own. "Agreed." He mimicked, attaching his real hand to his wrist to form his Katana.

Shito formed his pistol, feeling a whole lot better with the smooth weapon in his hand. "Be prepared."

The woman smiled darkly at them. "Well, isn't this cute. Do you really think you stand a chance against us? Such persistence…"

"…Is quite irritating." The older Ferryman finished.

Both Chika and Shito stiffened, preparing themselves for what could possibly be their last fight. They shot looks around the equally nervous group in the house, all most likely thinking the same thing.

'How in the hell are we supposed to get passed these guys when they can erase us with a touch of those Oars?'

"_Actually, I find them to be quite _inspiring_." _

The sudden chill in the air was the best damn indication that back up had arrived. Not to mention just watching as the Oars held by the Ferrymen began to ice over from one end to the other. The enemy had been forced to let go of their weapons in order to preserve their hands from the attack. However before the things could even remotely land, a snap of a finger sounded causing the ice to shatter, destroying the Oars in the process.

"S-shinigami-sama." The woman hissed. "How dare you—"

"Actually, how dare _you_ Kanro." Zarame snarled at her, standing directly opposite of them on the house walls. "I already told you, these people are under my protection and supervision. You cannot harm them."

"Not to mention…" Came a second voice, a blur of white and lilac forming next to Zarame on the wall. "As I hear it, you have new orders from the higher ups."

Kanro, the female Ferryman, narrowed her eyes on the lilac haired girl. "_You_. You're that little nuisance with the sun goddess's soul."

Michiru frowned, forming her scythes in a flash. 'Nuisance?' She mentally repeated.

"Oi Gopher!"

The girl glanced down for the first time on her friends, smiling warmly at her partners. "Chika-kun, Shito-kun." She greeted.

"Pleased to see you're alright too." Shito smirked, placing one hand in his pocket while the other held his pistol casually.

"Well I'll be damned before I let these illegal zombies get away again!" Kanro interrupted shrilly. "They have caused enough problems with the fates!" She yelled, charging forward with or without her oar.

"Kanro-san!" The older Ferryman shouted in alarm, shooting out an arm to try and catch her.

Michiru had moved at the exact moment the woman had, her olive eyes narrowing on her target as she produced an extensive wall of flames to stop the crazed woman in her tracks. As it turned out, it had done the trick to stop her. The woman had just barely been able to fall back, burnt portions of her robes proving just that. Whereas Michiru had landed gracefully on her feet next to her partners, twisting her blades so that they were protectively in front of her body before dispersing the flames.

"I told you, your orders have changed. Leave now." Michiru warned darkly, her eyes glowing with a hint of gold. "Or I won't be so nice."

"Little brat." Kanro spat, standing next to her partner once more.

"Nice." Chika grinned, leaning his Katana on his shoulder smugly.

Shito mirrored the grin. "We have missed you presence dearly Kita-san."

"_Yare yare_…" Came the groans of an exasperated Bekko-san. He had appeared in front of Koyomi and the knocked out Toko, his hood covering half his face which made him appear more gloomy than usual. "Alas Kanro-san, she _is_ right."

"Bekko! That's not possible, the records—" Kanro began to argue.

"—Are all safe and sound back where they belong. And repaired practically seamlessly no less." Bekko-san answered easily. "Now if you wouldn't mind leaving, I have other business to tend to with every person in this room… Well with the exception of you Lyca and of course Koyomi." To which the Werewolf merely grunted.

"Let's just leave, if our commands have changed we should be informed immediately." The older Ferryman told his partner.

The woman bit her lip in frustration, but nodded nonetheless. "We'll be seeing each other again, _little girl_." She vowed, following her partner as he created a doorway to Higan.

When they both left, Michiru had dropped her guard and dematerialized her blades with a small sigh. She had felt Zarame appear next to her and leaned slightly on him while she yawned. "Thank gosh she didn't pick any fights…"

"Yes, you put on a fabulous act." Zarame held her side and supported her weight. "You've exhausted yourself too much."

"W-wait, what do you mean she exhausted herself?" Zen jumped in front of Michiru. "Would have been able to fight at all if that Kanro had decided to ignore the warning?"

Michiru smiled sheepishly, "We-well… No. I nearly passed out just making that wall to stop her." She laughed weakly.

"So essentially we would have lost big time if they hadn't turn tail and run." Shuuji concluded.

"Now that's a little bit of a scary thought." Zen muttered.

"Well thanks for the save anyways! And you smell like sweat and dirt by the way." Chika pointed out with a laugh. "You need a shower Gopher."

Michiru glared at him. "Mou, you are so mean." But then she looked up at Zarame, a little self conscience. "Um, am I really that bad?" She asked in a tiny insecure voice.

The Reaper rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I really don't care what that baka says. I've been depraved long enough from holding you."

Michiru held back a blush, though not much would have been seen since her cheeks were covered in mud anyways. She really was a little roughed up.

"Hai hai, everyone is happy to be together again. Now if you all don't mind I am on a strict schedule." Bekko-san told them all uninterestedly. "Onegai minna-san come gather to the centre of the, well, what's left of the room."

"Yay yay! Come on minna-san~!" Yuuta bounced up from behind Bekko-san in one of his usual outfits. "Announcement time~"

"Uh," Zen blinked as the others gathered around Bekko, and looked up at Michiru. "Do you know what this is about?"

Michiru smiled weakly. "No need to worry." She held in a giggle when her two partners gave her the same look.

"Now now." Bekko-san had ushered them to quiet down. "All your contracts have been paid. Though the sum varies between you all, your ties are broken with me and you are all living, breathing, humans once more." On that note, all the weapons that had been formed had dissipated. "Though your debts are paid off from me, you are now under a new living contract with Shimotsuki-san. She will provide you all with the paperwork of the total debt that you owe her family."

Chika stared down at his right hand, the feeling washing over him completely foreign and… welcomed. He felt warm, he could feel his heart beat again. He shot a glance to his partner, and grinned at his widened eyes. "Heh, so how does it feel, shit-Shito? Feeling alive?"

"For the first time." Shito muttered back a little dumbfounded. 'Is this truly real?'

Michiru inclined her head to her boyfriend and sighed happily. All of their hard work had finally paid off. The timing was close, but they had made it. 'Thank kami their safe. All my friends… they had me worried… But Shiba-san…' She zoned out for a few minutes, just thinking of the boy and what a true sacrifice he had been in order for all of this to occur.

"Now remember everyone, you are human again. So don't be reckless anymore. Next time you die, it will be the real thing." Bekko spoke tonelessly. "Oh, and also don't forget to thank the combined efforts of Michiru-chan, Yuuta-kun and Shimotsuki-san for making all of this possible."

Maybe it was due to shock, which everyone was… Because the room, well whatever was left of this safe house, was absolutely quiet.

"I-is this… Really it?"

It was Undertaker-san that had spoken up in a stutter.

"We're… alive." Otsu-san had muttered in disbelief.

Suddenly there was a round of cheering. Howls of laughter and hoots of glee as they all celebrated they're lives being restored. Though Bekko kept to himself, he had shot Michiru and Zarame a look that insisted he did not want to remain with the joyful group. It just wasn't his thing being all happy and loud. He much preferred silence with a hint of gloom in the air. So without much of a word he had let himself out of the dimension quietly, shooting a crooked grin at the always surprising and interesting girl, Michiru.

The girl had returned a small smile towards Bekko-san, sighing when he had left. This life now, would take a large turn for all of them. Everything was different now that the Zombie-Loan contracts were paid off. 'Well, they still owe someone money. But I don't think Shimotsuki-san will have much of an issue with that once they're under a contract with her family.' She leaned a little more heavily against her boyfriend, dots beginning to cloud her vision. "Za-Zarame-kuuuuun…" She slurred slightly. As if on cue, her white apparel had shimmered and disappeared, leaving her in her Prince costume from the day of the school play.

"Michiru-chan!" Her boyfriend had said in fright, feeling her lean more and more into him.

"L-let's… go h-home." She said finally with a smile, before letting her body do its thing and pass out.

Zarame silently swore when she slump against him, awkwardly shuffling her into his arms until he was alright to carry her properly. Although he was worried that she would be out of it for a while, he couldn't help but feel okay just because of that smile of hers that remained on her lips even as she slept. So he let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding, and turned his gaze towards the group that had suddenly become anxious.

"Let's return to your world, shall we?" He smirked.

"Hell yeah!" Chika spoke up for everyone.

The Reaper resisted rolling his eyes and merely turned around instead, opening a portal back to the proper dimension. And without any further ado, they had all walked in, returning home together.

-X-

"…_Now do it, take them and get out of here before they show up and delete your friends." He coughed, more blood coating him. _

_The spirals of flames that had been in an endless battle with the freezing element had quickly conquered over it, eliminating them and lighting their battlegrounds in an orange glow. _

"_I-I d-don't understand—" Michiru began in a stuttered, confused as to why this was happening. _

"_Isn't it obvious?" Shiba continued to smile, genuinely for once. _

Michiru shot up in bed, beads of sweat running down her face as she tried to calm her racing heart. She stared down at her comforter and breathed in deeply, trying to decipher her dream from reality. 'I remember now…' She put a hand against her forehead and closed her eyes. 'Shiba-kun…' She thought desperately.

She then shook her head and looked around, gathering her surroundings. Well, she was back in her room at the dorms, a chair placed next to her bed where she presumed Zarame sat most of the time. 'Where is he? Usually he's glued to my bedside.' She thought as she rolled her shoulders a little and stretched her arms. It felt like she had been asleep for years she was so stiff.

There was a small knock at her open door, and in walked her boyfriend with a relieved smile on his face. "Michiru-chan? Thank Kami you're finally awake." He walked around her bed and made his way up to her to check her temperature. "You know you can be the most idiotic person when it comes to protecting your friends." Zarame grumble, his smile rapidly slipping off his face.

"S-sumimasen." Michiru blushed at her nervous stutter. "I can't help it sometimes."

"You've had everyone worried for the past three days." He chastised, leaning back to place both his hands in his pockets. "Especially after disappearing the way you had… I thought for a moment that I had lost you." He admitted, his brows knitting together in deep thought. He withdrew one hand from his pocket and brushed some stray hair away from her heart shaped face. "On another note, your friends are curious to know how it is that their contracts are broken since last I checked, they had all been in an immense amount of debt."

"W-well i-it's a l-long story—" Michiru began, and next thing she knew, she was hosting a full house of people in her room. Excluding Shimotsuki-san and Lyca, they were all pretty much there.

"Can't start the story without us, Gopher." Chika grinned.

Oh kami, how embarrassing… She was covered in sweat and most likely hadn't showered for days. How could they even bare to stay in the same room as her?

"After all, we do have you to thank for saving us." Toko also added in with a big smile.

Sure she had saved them all, but it did cost something…

Sotetsu chuckled loudly and leaned on both Shito and Chika. "Yeah, not to mention if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten the dorms back after they'd gotten erased."

And… Wait the dorms had been erased? When had that happened?

"Either way we a very grateful, Kita-san."

…

Michiru just stared at them in awe, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Though this was normal when it came to her friends, so she had turned away to look for her glasses while she hid the dark blush that coated her cheeks. When she found them, she had turned around to face them again and stared before placing on her glasses.

"A-ano… m-minna-san… I don't know where to start… I just know that the only reason I was able to help you was because I had to sacrifice a great power to pay off most of your loans." She started, her eyes turning sullen at the thought of her tiring battle.

"What do you mean?" Zen asked.

"I-I was fighting Shiba-kun, tooth and nail to stop him from ever hurting any of you again. But when it came down to it, the only reason I was able to over power him was because he gave up." She looked up at Chika sadly.

-X-

_He dropped roughly to his knees, his weight leaning against his scythe to keep himself up right. "This needed to look real. Needed to look like I was ready to kill you…" His voice strained, the boy coughing up more blood. "I—" He covered his mouth to shield her from his blood, groaning in pain when he coughed more violently. _

"_Sh-Shiba-kun!" Michiru dropped to her knees as well and touched his shoulder. _

"_I've been waiting now, for the perfect time to betray ARRC. This is it. The cores that I stole are much greater in value, you can use them now." He said urgently, looking down at his bloodied hand in disdain. "I've done a lot of terrible things as a false reaper, but it was all vital for this." He dematerialized the scythe he had been leaning on, his arms dropping into the sands roughly_.

_Michiru gaped at him, in complete disbelief of his confession. "Y-you mean to say, you planned for all of this?" _

_Shiba shrugged as best as he could. "Not immediately, no. But after I accidentally stole that core and realized its value, I started to make strategies against ARRC." He grinned up at her, blood leaking down both sides of his mouth. "So do it, take the cores and hurry back to HQ. Hakka is bound to be there. He won't be expecting you. He also has the records." He reached into a pocket of his jacket, taking out a folded piece of paper that was covered in dirt and blood. "Here, these are the coordinates to the dimension." _

"_B-but Shiba-kun, what about you—I can't just do this to you—!" Michiru cried, her eyes tearing up. "What will I tell Ch-Chika-kun?" _

_He forced the paper into her hands and grasped them. "Tell him that this was always the plan. That I wish him, and all your friends the best. It's been fun." Shiba smiled gently. "Now remember little Michiru-chan, repairing the records won't be easy. You need time. So take down ARRC first and make sure other Ferrymen are there to help. After that, you have to combine your abilities with a core to mend the records. Okay?" _

"_Y-yes, Amaterasu-sama has already informed me how to properly repair them. But I never thought that I would be using a core to do it. I—I originally planned to sacrifice my powers…" She mumbled a little, sniffling loudly and wiping away her tears. _

"_I'd never let you do that. Especially since your boyfriend has been waiting centuries to find a girl like you." Shiba half chuckled and half coughed. He sighed and slouched a little, leaning forward so that his forehead was against her shoulder, white feather tickling his cheeks pleasantly. "Now do it, you need to do it now. But just promise me one thing before…"_

"_Yes?" Michiru whispered, fighting back another wave of sorrow._

"_I'm afraid of… this death. I w-wasn't before… But now… Will I be accepted into heaven? Can you send me there? Onegai Michiru-chan..?" _

_She choked back a sob, her eyes definitely leaking tears. "I-I swear, you will find peace in the after life. I will send you to heaven Shiba-kun." _

"_Arigato." _

-X-

"I was able to take his cores from him, and used one to pay off a large amount of all your loans. The other portion I had used after I had broken into ARRC and repaired the Akashic Records. If it weren't for Shiba-kun telling me everything, and forcing me to take back the cores, you all wouldn't be here. I even managed to help capture Hakka-san, the leader of ARRC, along with a few other members. By the time I had finished my part, Zarame had found me and a deal had been reached with Bekko-san and Shimotsuki-san. Then we rushed to see all of you, and stop those Ferrymen from harming you."

"…Shiba did that, for us?" Chika asked with a choke.

"Chika…" Toko muttered softly.

Shito placed a hand on his partners shoulder in a comforting manner. "Apparently we were wrong about him. What he did was honourable."

"Because of him, we're all alive right now." Shuuji added in his usual dull tone.

Chika looked up at Michiru and then towards the Reaper. "Do you think.. He went to heaven?"

Michiru blinked in surprise at the question, but nodded nonetheless. Her warm smile graced her lips and she beamed at Chika. "I'm positive that's where he is. I guided him myself. He is at peace."

"Then if that's so…" Chika sniffled loudly, unshed tears in his golden eyes. "I'll be happy. Because that's what the baka would want." He grinned.

Michiru nodded. "Yes it is.. And if you want, we can hold a proper funeral for him—Though not many of us actually have the money to do that…" Michiru thought out loud, placing a finger on her chin.

"I may be able to pull some strings to create a grave for him… If you don't mind skipping the ceremony since it is quite a cost…" Undertaker-san suggested helpfully. "We can also settle for sending him a prayer every year, on this day."

Everyone looked back at the fidgety man, some having even forgotten his presence to begin with. "Seriously? You'd do that for us?" Chika asked.

Undertaker-san had placed his hands on his hips. "_No_. I would be doing it for the person who gave up his life in exchange for ours." He stated stubbornly.

"Whatever, we'll take it." Shito answered for a peevish Chika, holding the boy back from attacking the poor man.

"Then it's settled~!" Koyomi shouted gleefully. "I'm so happy~!"

Michiru sighed happily, 'It's over… I can hardly believe it.' She thought. "Oh wait, about the dorms…" Michiru began. "Are we still able to live here? I-I mean the reason we were here was because of the Zombie-Loan. And Shimotsuki-san—"

"Is pretty much allowing us all to stay here unless we have another place in town that we can live at." Zen answered easily. "As long as nobody leaves the city without notifying her, we're pretty much bound to this place until we finish up our contract with her."

"Which totally sucks!" Sotetsu grumbled miserably. "I still have adventures I want to go on… So much food to taste~!"

Otsu-san slapped the back of Sotetsu's head roughly. "Quit your whining. You are by far the worst slacker of us all. You owe a lot to Shimotsuki."

Sotetsu cried dramatically. "Why are you so mean to me Otsu-buddy?"

Michiru tuned out their little argument and turned to look over at her silent boyfriend, his hands still in his pockets as he stared at their group of friends. "Zara-kun?" She called sweetly, earning his attention. "W-what will happen with you? I-I mean us..?"

Zarame shot her an are-you-dumb look. "Obviously I'll be staying where ever you are. As long as these other Shinigami continue to do their work, I won't have as much of a burden to bear." He smirked at the lilac haired girl. "I'd like to finish this school with you. I can do so while balancing my own duties without a problem I'm sure. Either way, I will be spending eternity with you, my dear. That is, unless you're trying to get rid of me?"

Michiru squeaked when he had lowered himself to her level, his face so enticingly close to hers. For a moment, she was concerned about her bad breath and her horrid stench. 'I hope I don't stink. I—' Her thoughts were cut off when the herd of people had suddenly fled her room, all of them claiming not to be in the mood for watching a horny teenaged couple go at it.

She must have blushed ten shades of red if that was even possible. "I—I.." She stuttered hopelessly, her glasses drooping down her nose.

"Hn?" Came Zarame's ever classic response.

"U-uh—!" She inhaled deeply, the red headed Reaper catching her lips in a hungry kiss before she could even form an excuse. She had felt him place both of his arms on either side of her, leaning onto the bed to deepen the kiss. Except that as much as she wanted to moan and accept that he had won this battle, she couldn't help but feel gross and gritty. And oh Kami, he may smell delicious but she knew she currently did not smell like roses. So…

She broke away roughly and suddenly shouted. "I—I need a bath!" This had successfully distracted her handsome Reaper to give her enough time to scoot out of her bed and book it to the baths in record timing.

After the dust settled from his girlfriend fleeing so fast, Zarame had chuckled loudly and slowly decided to follow after her with a certain glint in his eyes. There was no way she was going to get away from him. Not tonight.

In fact, not for the rest of eternity.

He was sure of it.

~Owari

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**A/N Oh my freaking god, I'm glad I was able to finish this. I hope that everyone is happy too. I know it's sad that this story is coming to an end, but it needs to. Heck I never even planned to make this a story to begin with… It was supposed to be a one shot. So much for that, huh? Well, I hope you all enjoyed this! And hopefully some time n the future I can write another Zombie-Loan fic! R&R**

**Sayonara~**


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